Bruises
by callieandjack
Summary: For Hannah Barton, the last few years of her life have been painful, but the presence and love of her father has always pulled her through. But when her father dies in a tragic accident, she is left with her estranged uncle who she has never met. Now her uncle, Clint Barton, must help her pick up the pieces of her shattered heart. Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**First off, I would like to say I do NOT own Marvel and all it's characters and never will (althought I'd love to!). The only character I own is Hannah. Second, I would like to thank you for coming to read this story. I have been working on it for a while and, if you all like it, it was totally worth it! Third, this is my second Avenger fanfiction story, right next to _Unexpected Family_. If you like that, you can always check it out on my profile. Last but not least, I hope you enjoy this story. Please review when you're done. It always makes me so happy to see that I got some reviews. Have fun reading!**

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**Bruises**

**Chapter One**

"Ms. Hannah Barton, come to the office please. Ms. Hannah Barton." I perked up in the middle of the class history lesson. The eyes of the other students were on me, as well as the teacher. I never got called to the office...until now. I slowly got up and, leaving my things behind, and went to the door. The halls are quiet and empty, save for Al the janitor mopping up a mess on the floor.

"Called to the office, Hannah?" He asks. I nodded and he laughed. "Because you're such a troublemaker." This caused me to give a giggle. Little did I know it was the last bit of happiness I would have in a long while. I made my way to the office, only to be greeted with blank faces from the office secretary and the principal, Mr. Mack.

"Hannah, please come into my office." Mr. Mack said as he motioned toward the room. The atmosphere was tense, like there was something terribly wrong. But I had no idea why. He gently closed the door and sat behind his desk, and I followed suit and sat down opposite him.

"Hannah...something has happened." He started.

"Mr. Mack, have I done something wrong?" He shook his head.

"No, no. It's nothing you've done at all." There was a small silence as he looked down at his feet for a moment. He rubbed his temples for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking at me. "Hannah, you're father, Bernard...he was in a car accident with a semi this morning on the way to work."

"Wh-what?" I asked. "Is he okay?" He had to be alright. My father was all I had. After Mom died of cancer a few years back, Dad and I were the only two left. I was all he had. He was all I had.

"Hannah, it hurts me to tell you this, but your father, well, he was killed by the semi. He died instantly." The relief of knowing that my father didn't feel any pain when he passed was quickly replaced with shock. I held back a few tears and looked at Mr. Mack. I wasn't going to break down. Not now, at least.

"What happens now?" I asked.

"We have contacted your next of kin." He said, quickly answering my question. My eyes nearly bulged out of my head. I had never been told of any other family members, not that I remembered, anyway.

"What? Who is it?" I asked curiously.

"Your father had a brother. Didn't you know?" I shook my head.

"We have contacted him and he shall be here shortly." Mr. Mack said. "He has agreed to take custody of you until further notice."

"You can't do that." I objected. I didn't know this guy. And there had to be some reason Dad had never told me about him.

"I'm afraid the state requires that I must." Mr. Mack said. "He will be here to collect you in about an hour."

"Please, Mr. Mack, I don't even know him."

"He was approved by your father for custody if anything should happen to him." Mr. Mack said as he started to leave the room so I could have some privacy. "I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do."

I sat back in my chair, dazed and confused. Why would my father never tell me about his own brother? And why had this uncle of mine never contacted us in all these years? Why did this have to happen to me?

* * *

**Clint's P.O.V.  
**

I hadn't seen my brother in years. The last time I had seen him was at the circus we had escaped to from a foster home years ago. Now I come to find out that he had a daughter; a seventeen year-old daughter. Hannah. I pulled up her face on the S.H.I.E.L.D. database. She reminded me of Barney. That light brown hair...those blue eyes. I couldn't believe it at first, but when I saw her eyes, I knew she had to be Barney's. And that made her my niece. I was an uncle. What an unexpected surprise.

I had called Nat and she agreed without question that she should stay with us. But there were so many complications. Our jobs, for instance. We couldn't keep that a secret for long. The only other option would have been a foster home, and I was not about to go there. I had been in the system and I was not going to allow any kin of mine in that sort of environment. As I drove through the small town in Iowa (Barney had not strayed too far from where we had been raised ourselves), I wondered how much of a culture shock it would be for her to live in New York City.

I pulled up to the school and parked there for a few minutes. I closed my eyes, trying to think of what I was going to say. But what could I say to a seventeen year old girl? I wasn't one for talking. I silently prayed that neither was she. It made it easier, at least for me.

It was now or never. I got myself out of the car, my legs numb, as I approached the front office.

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**Hannah's P.O.V.**

The car ride was silent. Good. I wanted it that way. The man in the driver's seat was my uncle. And he had a striking resemblance to Dad, except for being a bit younger. I had retrieved my book bag from class, never expecting to come back when I learned he lived in New York. I held back the tears as I left the classroom, my friends and fellow classmates giving me a soft goodbye.

Right now we were going back home to collect my things. Dad was going to be cremated, I guess. He had been too badly mangled to even consider a funeral. And truthfully, it was better that way. He had never had any really close friends. Like I said before, I was all he had. When we arrived at the house, I looked at it with sadness. It wasn't much, but it was home. I unlocked the door and headed directly to my room. I opened up a few suitcases and quickly packed my bags. Just clothes, some personal items, and a laptop I had saved up for a whole summer.

"I'll call someone to deliver your other things." My uncle, Clint was his name, said as he looked at my room. But he saw as well as I did that there was not much left.

"Don't bother." I said coldly as I zipped up the last of the suitcases.

"Can I help with your bags?" He asked, trying to keep as polite as possible.

"I don't need your help." I snapped. We had been fine without him all the years he had never bothered to contact us. I didn't need his help now. He let me pass him as I drug all my belongings to the car and threw it in the trunk. I hopped in the car and we were about to start off when I remembered something. Without thinking, I jumped out of the car.

"Hannah!" Clint said as he jerked the car to a screeching halt and got out of the car, trailing right on my heels.

I rushed into the house and into my bedroom once more. I looked at my dresser and couldn't believe I had forgotten it. A picture of Mom, Dad and I. I was about twelve when it was taken. Before we knew Mom had cancer. Before she became too frail and helpless to even get up. In this picture, she was the pristine image of health, with a big smile on her face. Like it was perfect. And I was not about to leave that blissful moment of perfect behind. That's when my uncle rushed in.

"Don't ever jump out of the car while it's moving." He said sternly.

"Sorry. Forgot something." I mumbled before walking right past him and back into the car. I watched as the house slowly became a small dot on the horizon. I would never see it again. All the memories with Mom and Dad were in that house, and they might as well have been lost forever too.

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**Okay, readers. What did you all think? Did you like it, love it? Tell me everything!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**The feedback I got from this chapter was absolutely AMAZING. I don't want you to get too excited that I'm posting another chapter this quickly because I'm really busy with college classes and won't be able to post this quickly a lot, but I'm giving you another chapter now. Thank you all so much and I hope you and others will read this story and love it too. By the way, I never did mention that the P.O.V.'s are mostly Hannah's. The only time I ever title the P.O.V.'s is if there is a Hannah/Clint switch-off. And the title of this story is based off the song "Bruises" by _Train_. It really fit for this story, and hopefully you'll see why soon. Enjoy!  
**

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**Chapter Two**

We were taking a plane to New York City. It was far from the small town in Iowa I had been raised in. My uncle's place of employment was flying us there, so there was not a big problem with security or anything like that. It was an airline I didn't recognize, one with an eagle on it, but I didn't really care to address the matter. That meant talking, which was the exact opposite of what I wanted right now. My uncle sat across from me, looking out the window at the clouds. I decided to look at the floor. That way, I didn't have to look at _him_.

"My wife and I, we live at the apartment some of the time." He finally spoke up.

"Some of the time?" I glanced up at him curiously.

"Work takes us around the world a lot." He replied. Good. I wouldn't have to see him all the time. "Her name's Natasha. She already has a room set up for you."

"Great." I said dismally. I would be sure to lock the door the second I was there.

The plane was again filled with a saddening silence, and it continued until we got off the plane. The eagle emblem like the one on the plane was on the car, and a redhead was standing by it as we got off, bags and all.

"This must be Hannah." She said, giving me one of the fakest smiles I had ever seen. I didn't even give her a second glance as I walked past her. She looked to her husband in question, but he only shook his head. I climbed into the backseat and we headed off to the apartment, and, true to my word, I quickly locked myself in my room, leaving my uncle and his wife to themselves.

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**Clint's P.O.V.**

"She's taking it pretty hard." Nat said as she sat beside me on the couch.

"She's seventeen and an orphan. Not really the bright future everyone looks forward to." I pointed out.

"And you're taking it pretty hard too, from what I can see." She said, her eyes focusing on me intently. We had known each other for years and she could read me like yesterday's newspaper.

"How could I not have known I had a niece for all these years?" I asked her. "I didn't even knew where he was."

"Clint, don't be so hard on yourself."

"I'm not angry at me. I'm angry at Barney. How dare he not even tell me where he was. And then to drop his kid on me like this. I mean, how irresponsible can he be?"

"You don't mean that." Natasha said skeptically. And I didn't. I wasn't angry at Hannah. God knows I didn't blame her for this. But Barney, well, we hadn't been on good terms since I was a kid. But he could have at least tried to find and tell me about his family. But then again, shouldn't I have tried to find him? It was an anger mixed with guilt and remorse.

"I'm not angry at her. I just...what do we do with a seventeen year-old? You know what our jobs require...but I couldn't just leave her in foster care."

"I know. We'll make the best of what we can." Natasha reassured me. "We'll take some time off work. Director Fury will understand."

"He'll have to." I replied. "We don't have a choice right now."

"Try to think of it as a vacation." Her attempts to cheer me up were quickly marked with skepticism.

"With a niece I've never met?" She shrugged her shoulders. Neither of us knew what to do with a seventeen year-old. I guess we'd find out.

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**Hannah's P.O.V.**

I listened in on their conversation through the door. So he thought I was just some kid that got dropped off on him? Fine. If he felt like I was such a burden, then why stay? I was in New York City. I could find a place far away from him. From his totally fake-nice wife. From everyone. Because that's all I wanted. To be alone. Away from the world. Away from human beings. Away from life in general. Tonight, I was getting out of here.

**Later...**

It was about eleven at night and I had swiftly and silently packed what little I needed. About two hundred dollars in babysitting money, some clothes, and the picture, my most treasured possession, in a backpack. I had assumed the two had gone to bed for the night when I saw the lights turned off. I quietly opened the door and looked around. Not a soul in sight. Good. I made my way over to the door of the apartment; it opened without a sound. I quickly made my way to the elevator and out of the apartment building. Even at eleven o'clock on a Tuesday, the city was lit up with lights and bustling with people, much to my distaste.

I weaved my way through the hoards of people, trying to get as far out of New York City as humanly possible. Even if somehow my uncle did have an ounce of caring in him, or at least didn't want to be charged with reckless child care, I wasn't going to be anywhere close when he called the cops to go out looking for me. With the speed I was moving at, I would be out in no time. I decided to take the subway for the quickest way out of town. I paid for my ticket and made one last stop to the bathroom, but as I came out, I was quickly grabbed and a hand clamped over my mouth.

"Be quiet and I won't hurt you." The voice, a deep male's, whispered in my ear. I could feel him slowly take my backpack off. He wanted money. That's when I remembered my picture was in there. In anger, I bit his hand and he yowled in pain. He flung me to the ground, backpack and all.

"Why you little..." He advanced towards me, his now bleeding hand formed into a fist, ready to strike. That's when he was tackled by and thrown against the wall by someone, the one person I didn't want to see; my uncle. His eyes were seething as he grabbed the man by the throat.

"And what do you think you're doing to this young lady right here?" He snarled.

"I just wanted money, man." The guy said fearfully.

"Well, you won't find it here. Now get out before I really give you something to fear." He said fiercely as he threw the man on the ground. He quickly hoisted himself up and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, leaving me alone with my uncle.

"And what do you think you're doing here? You're supposed to be at home." I snorted.

"You call that place home?" I asked angrily. "That is NOT my home."

"It is while you live with us." He retorted.

"I'm doing you a favor." I spat back. "I know you don't want me here."

"What?" As if he was confused.

"I heard your little conversation. I know you both think I'm just some kid that got off dropped on you." His eyes went wide in realization.

"Hannah, I..."

"Look, as far as I'm concerned, you don't want anything to do with me, and I _certainly_ don't want anything to do with you. So just let me go, alright? You'll never have to see me again. It'll be like this whole thing never happened." I could feel hot tears well up in my eyes. I hadn't cried since Dad had died. Not even once. And now I was crying in front of an uncle I didn't even know.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean...you're not a burden. I was just angry...but not at you." It was a mad scramble to get his thoughts together, however, it was a pathetic attempt.

But his words were slowly becoming less and less important as the sinking realization of my father's death became more and more unbearable. I had pushed it away, tried to ignore the feelings welling up inside of me. But now, those emotions were tearing me apart.

"I miss my dad." I whimpered as I started to shake with sobs. And then he did something I really didn't expect (truthfully, I don't think he did either). He hugged me, right there in the middle of the station. But I didn't care. I needed someone, even if that person was a stranger that just happened to be my uncle.

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**What did you all think?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Just wanted to let you all know that I am loving these reviews. Hope you love this new chapter! Oh, and because I'm using lyrics later on in this chapter, I thought it only right to write in this citation. English majors, you know what I'm talking about.**

**Train. "Bruises." _AZLyrics. _MUSIXMATCH, n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2013.**

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**Chapter Three**

**Hannah's P.O.V.**

It had been a long walk back to the apartment after the little spell in the subway station and I spent the next day in seclusion. The pain of losing my father was more than I could bear. I would never see him again; his eyes, his smile. Never again would I get to hear his laugh or his cheer for our favorite basketball team. He wouldn't get to hold me in his arms again or kiss me on the forehead before I went off to school. He was my friend, my comforter and my father. And now he was gone. Just like Mom. Even worse was that I was quickly coming to the realization that I was an orphan. I no longer had any parents. They were gone: forever. And all I had left was my father's estranged brother and his wife. With these overwhelming thoughts and emotions, I just wanted to be alone. My uncle seemed to get that, since I hadn't seen him once we got back to the apartment.

There was a knock at the door. I didn't even turn when I heard the door creak open.

"Brought you some soup." Natasha said. I kept my back to her. When she figured I wasn't going to talk, she set the bowl down on the dresser beside the bed and left. There was a moment though that she lingered, as if she wanted to say something, but removed herself when she decided against it.

The light slowly faded from my window. I later looked over to the clock on the dresser: 10:30. That's when I noticed that the walls inside my room had become quite suffocating, and the soup from lunch had grown cold. When my stomach growled, I knew I needed to eat something. I went out, although not to run away this time. I quickly located the kitchen, quietly searching through the cupboards. I settled on a box of Cheerios, which I was perfectly content to eat straight out of the box. Who needed a bowl of milk for something as delicious as this?

I decided to avoid the bedroom for a while and settled on a chair in the living room, dimly lit by the outside city lights. Munching on my Cheerios, I looked out into the streets of the city, only to find that it was actually quite comforting. It was nothing like the sight of the countryside at home where crickets chirped throughout the night and the moon lighting up the midnight sky, but since my life was changing, a different scenery was just another readjustment I'd have to get used to.

My eyes wandered around the room. A red couch, a big flat screen television, a vase full of flowers. Funny, I never pictured them as flower people. There was one picture on a small table that caught my eye. It was one that brought me some shock and awe. I placed down the cereal and walked over to it. Sure enough, I recognized the people in it. It was Dad...at a younger age. And I could barely recognize my uncle because he was so young. But there they were, sitting with two grown-ups I assumed were their parents...my grandparents. Dad never talked about them much. I had asked about them several times when all the other kids had their grandparents show up for Grandparent's Day at school, but Dad never said anything. I stopped asking when I saw how much it pained him to think about them.

I placed the picture down and was about to put the cereal away and head back to my room when I saw something I didn't expect at all. It was a guitar sitting in the corner. I didn't believe it was Natasha's, so I concluded it had to be my uncle's. I never saw him as a musical person. Anyways, Dad had taught me how to play the guitar since I was young. I wasn't the best player, but it was something to do on Sunday afternoons with Dad. I cautiously looked around the room, paranoid that someone might be watching. When my vision affirmed that there was no one around, I gingerly took the guitar in my hands and hit a note. Whoops. I forgot it was nighttime. But I really wanted to play. It reminded me of Dad. And I needed something to remember all the good times right now, lest I remember the present. I looked over to the fire escape out the window. I gracefully made my way over there and closed it almost all the way before dangling my legs over the four stories below me. I started to play the first song that came to my mind:

_These bruises make for better conversation_

It started off scratchy, but I quickly picked up on the notes again.

_Loses the vibe that separates_  
_It's good to let you in again_  
_You're not alone in how you've been_  
_Everybody loses, we all got bruises_  
_We all got bruises (Train)  
_

After a few more strums, I set the instrument down. Bruises. Another one to add to my already battered heart. First Mom, then Dad. All within a few years of each other. And never a word about my own uncle. And yet he was listed as a close relative at school? But why? Why the secret?

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**Clint's P.O.V.**

The sound of a guitar chord triggered me out of my subconscious. What was that? Or perhaps _who_ was more fitting for this particular question. I got out of bed, taking out a small handgun I had stored away in the dresser. I snuck into the living room, hiding around a corner. But there was no one. I noticed, however, that my guitar was missing. It had no sentimental value to me, but still, someone who could sneak in and out of my apartment had to have the same stealth as me. And I did not like that one bit.

That's when I noticed the window was slightly opened. And there, sitting on the fire escape, was my niece strumming to my guitar. I quickly recognized the song.

"Bruises." I muttered quietly. It was relatable for her right now. Another bruise to add to her invisible collection of scars. And I could empathize with her. When Mom and Dad had died, at least I had Barney for a time. But she had no one. Not a soul was standing right beside her to ease pain, to relate to her suffering. Except me. That's when I thought perhaps I was the one person who could help, and not being there for Hannah was the one thing that was standing in the way of her comfort. At the subway station, where I had almost knocked that creep's lights out when I saw him threaten her, she had been a wreck. But then she locked herself away from people, from life. Just like me. I liked to be alone. But my scars didn't heal quite as well without another person. For me, that person was Nat. We both knew pain from our pasts. We had each other. But this kid, this niece of mine, she didn't have anyone to share her feelings with. Any person she had been close to was gone, leaving me to pick up the pieces of a shattered heart. But how could I do that when I was still trying to patch up my own?

"Clint?" Nat asked quietly as she rubbed her eyes groggily. She looked at the window and saw Hannah.

"She's a musician?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"Barney knew how to play. He must have taught her." I whispered. The teen set down the instrument and stared out into the streets, her eyes filled with pain and confusion.

"She hurts." Nat said simply.

"How do I fix it?" I was secretly hoping that she knew the answer.

"You can't." She replied. "Only time can heal your wounds."

"Mine?" I asked in confusion.

"Both of you."

"But Barney, he was her dad. He was just..."

"Your brother." She folded her arms, clearly expecting a confession which I really wasn't in the mood to give.

"I haven't seen him in years." I pulled my gaze away from her, but she pulled me right back in.

"Don't tell me that you didn't think of him every day since you last saw him." She was good at this. She may not be the biggest people person, but she could read them like a book, and I was no exception to her gift.

"I don't know what to do about her." I admitted.

"Be her uncle." As if I knew what that meant.

"What does that even mean?" It was a mistake to think that she knew either.

"You'll figure it out." She assured me, giving me a small peck on the cheek and going to bed, leaving me to watch my distraught niece in wonder.

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**Really wishing that I could write longer chapters. It's like some sort of deficiency. Anyone ever feel that way? Oh, and tell me what you think of this chapter. Always love to hear what you have to say!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**This ought to brighten up your Tuesday...or at least I hope it does! Enjoy!  
**

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**Chapter Four**

I woke up to the sound of a sharp rapping on the door. The clock read 7:00 a.m. Pulling my sheets over my head, I shouted "What?!"

"Get up. You've been in your room long enough." The sound of my uncle's voice reached my ears, making me extremely agitated.

"It's seven in the morning." I groaned.

"Precisely. Time to get up and greet the day."

"No."

"I'd hate to do this, but I will make you come out of there."

"The door's locked, genius." I said sarcastically.

"Don't think I won't bust down this door." And when I thought about it, he definitely could. He was rather muscular, and when he tackled that guy in the subway, I couldn't name one person who would have wanted to mess with him.

"I'll give you ten minutes to get out of this room. If you aren't out by then, I'll make good on my promise." Not really wanting to make a scene that morning, I hoisted myself out of bed and pulled on a simple pair of jeans and an old high school t-shirt. I put my hair into a messy ponytail and tried to make myself not to look like the wreck I had been the past few days. I made it out of into the living area right before the ten minute timer.

"Just in time." Natasha said from a small kitchen table, my uncle right across from her. There was quite a few breakfast choices on the table; waffles, bacon, eggs, sausage, fruit. I quietly took a place between her and my uncle.

"I didn't know what you liked, so I sort of fixed everything." I attempted a smile to show my gratitude. She was at least trying to make this work. That was one thing I could appreciate as long as I lived here.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" My uncle asked. "Help yourself." I took a few waffles with a couple pieces of bacon. It was one of the things Dad would fix on Saturday mornings, so it felt a little like home (but I wasn't about to call it that.) Before I knew it, I had eaten everything on my plate...and I was still hungry.

"You would think that she hadn't eaten a good meal in a while." Uncle Clint made a miniscule attempt at humor.

No, just not in a few days. Cheerios could hardly fill a growing teenager.

"So, Hannah," I perked up at him saying my name, "I was thinking...you know, since you've been cooped up for a few days, that you might want to get some fresh air."

"I'm good. Thanks." I tried to avoid getting out as much as possible. As much as I loved the outdoors, the last thing I wanted was to be around society.

"Let me rephrase that. You're _going_ to get some fresh air today." I sighed, knowing that this was going to be a force issue, so it was probably best not to argue with him.

With a shrug of my shoulders, I muttered, "Whatever you want." The room was silent until breakfast was over.

"We'll see you later, Nat." My uncle said, giving her a brief kiss before opening the door.

"I think she needs help doing the dishes." I mentioned, making one last attempt to keep from any private time with my uncle.

"Don't worry. I've got it." Natasha said with a satisfied smirk as she saw my frustration. "Have fun!" She yelled as the door closed behind us.

The trees were blooming with new leaves, the Sun was out and I couldn't have been in a more dismal mood. My uncle walked silently beside me, his footsteps not even audible as we walked down the deserted sidewalks.

"Umm...beautiful morning." I was determined to douse that little spark of hope of conversation as quickly as possible.

"I guess."

"Have you ever been to any big cities?" I shook my head.

"Dad and I never got out of town much."

"You're adjusting rather well to it though."

"It's a nice change of scenery. It doesn't remind me of him." He knew I meant Dad.

"Was he a good father?" The question caught me off guard. Why would he care? I figured if he hadn't seen his own brother in years, he surely wouldn't care about how he raised his own daughter.

"Yes, he was." I laughed for a moment as I remembered an old memory. "We used to play flag football in the house when Mom wasn't home." The visions of jumping over the couch to make a field goal and Dad catching me up in his arms like I weighted nothing at all brought me out of reality and into a moment of blissful remembrance.

"Hannah?" My uncle pulled me back to the present and I looked at him.

"Sorry, must have fazed out." I pushed my gaze back to the ground with embarrassment.

"You really miss him, don't you?"

"What do you care anyways?" I said harshly, which surprised him.

"What do you mean 'what do you care?' He was my brother."

"And yet you never contacted him."

"Hey, he never contacted me either. Or did you forget that too?" I wasn't prepared for his sharp tone.

"Sorry. Just didn't think family mattered to you after all these years."

"I didn't even know he was alive until after that phone call a few days ago."

"Then how did he get your contact number?"

Now he had this questioning look on his face.

"You didn't know about me either?"

"I didn't even know he had a brother until after he died." He was silent for a moment, thoughts circulating in his mind, just like me.

"So this was just as big a shock for you as it was for me."

"Yeah. I guess so."

Both of our worlds had been flipped upside down by this unexpected tragedy and family reunion. And, somehow, we had to make sense of it all. Was that even possible?

"So...do you like flag football?" He tried to change the subject for the sake of both of us.

"Yeah. It's one of my favorite sports, besides basketball, that is."

"Maybe we could shoot some hoops sometime."

"I'd like that."

True to his word, my uncle had a basketball in his hands the following morning. After being told at least a dozen times not to have the orange, spherical object on the table by Natasha, he decided it was time to take it outside to the park located about three blocks from the apartment. I could see an encouraging look from her to Clint as we headed out the door.

"You're not very good at this game, are you?" I asked my uncle as I dribbled the ball through his legs and made a successful layup.

"You don't have to be good at it to like it." He said as we checked the ball again. So far the score was 17-2. You could only guess what my score was as I stole the ball from him (again) and pulled a three pointer.

"Did you play in high school?" He asked in stark wonder.

"Dad taught me. He was a real fanatic about the sport." There seemed to be a lot of things he didn't know about his brother. But a lot had changed in the time they spent apart. A _lot_.

I dribbled the ball to the center of the court, ready to face off again when he waved up a hand.

"Let's take a breather for a minute." I consented and we sat down on a nearby bench.

"You should have played in school. You're a natural." He wiped some sweat off his brow.

"I wasn't really into it. Dad was my only favorite player."

"You guys were really close then?"

"We were all each other had. After Mom died, we were closer than ever."

"Who was your mother?"

"Leah Parker Barton. You would have loved her."

"How did she umm...pass? If you don't mind me asking."

"She had cancer...brain cancer." It still stung to think of the memory, sitting in the living room with Mom and Dad, Dad holding Mom's hand tightly and clinging to her like a small child. I could remember the numbness when they had told me. Thirteen years old and learning that your mother was going to die in a matter of weeks was not easy by any means. I remembered crying myself to sleep every night before and many nights after her death. Dad and I started to spend most of our time together until we spent almost every waking moment besides school and work with each other. And I loved it. I wanted my father and he wanted me. I thought we would be together forever until a few days ago.

"I'm sorry." He said sadly. "I understand."

"What do you mean?"

"Barney didn't tell you?"

"About what?"

"About our parents...your grandparents?" I shook my head.

"They died in a car accident when we were kids." That was perhaps the biggest surprise yet since I had gotten here.

"Why wouldn't Dad tell me about something like that?"

"The same way he didn't want you to know about me." My uncle answered, a perplexed expression on his face.

"But why?"

"I don't know." There was a short silence between us. "I don't know."

* * *

**Clint's P.O.V.**

"I don't get it, Nat. I just don't get it." I said to my wife as she placed a cup of tea in front of me that evening. I had just told her everything that Hannah had revealed to me yesterday and this morning at the park. Hannah had long gone to bed...either that or she was lying awake wondering what other secrets my brother had kept from her.

"He never told her anything?"

"Not even about me." I repeated to her. So that's why Hannah was angry. She thought I had never wanted to be a part of their family when she found out about me. Probably thought I was too stuck up to even care that my brother was still alive...or that I had a niece. However, the biggest thing that left me in confusion was how Barney knew how to get a hold of me after all these years. How?

"I still don't understand how he knew my contact number."

"There are several ways to get a hold of someone if you're smart enough." Nat pointed out. And if I knew Barney for anything, it was that he was intelligent.

"He wanted me to be there for her if anything happened to him." I said with slight realization.

"He knew you would take care of her." And I would. I had already had bad blood with one member of my family. I wasn't about to create more bad feelings with the one that was left.

"She's not a bad kid. Just...angry."

"Can't really blame her, given the circumstances."

"True." I said as I took a sip of tea. I almost spilled it because it burned my tongue. She smirked.

"Careful, it's hot." I glared at her.

"Thanks. I figured that out." I set down the cup before I managed to seer myself again.

"But she has a knack for basketball. Barney really taught her how to play."

"Is she fast?" I nodded.

"Very."

"I wonder if I could teach her a few moves..."

"No, Nat." I said sternly. I didn't mean to sound harsh. "I don't want her having any part in what we do."

"I meant some moves to enhance some basketball techniques."

"Can you do that?"

"Oh, I know plenty of moves."

"I doubt you know anything about basketball."

"I've seen enough. It's not that hard, really."

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you join us."

"I think I'd like that. You'd get your butt kicked by me more than usual that way."

"Ha ha. Very funny." I braved another sip of tea. Nat and basketball? That would be a game I wouldn't want to miss.

**Hannah's P.O.V.**

I was going through yet another sleepless night. Dad's death plus the added secrets about his brother and their parents were mind boggling. My mind was too busy to rest.

"Why the secrets, Dad?" I asked the dark nothingness as I looked out the window. No answer. I harrumphed in frustration.

But I knew I needed to get some sleep. And the perfect way to do that was to play some music. I looked at the crack between the floor and the door. Lights were out. Perfect. I went out and took the guitar and sat on the fire escape. Once again, the song "Bruises" came up. It was a good song for the occasion. And for a moment, I realized that I wasn't as lonely as I thought I was. My uncle had lost just as much as I had. And felt just as alone. As I strummed away, I couldn't help but think someone was watching me. But every time I turned around, no one was there.

* * *

**I don't know if you've noticed yet, but Hannah always calls Clint by 'uncle' or 'Uncle Clint,' yet Natasha never gets the title of 'aunt' and 'Aunt Natasha.' It's only because Hannah hasn't warmed up to her yet. But that's coming soon. As always, please review!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**The reviews I have been getting are amazing! I've been wanting to PM you guys to thank you, but there are a lot of guests, which I am still so happy that you all like this story. So I just wanted to give a BIG THANK YOU to everyone for reading and reviewing! And the amount of followers I have for this story already? Absolutely fantastic! Cannot believe how great this story is doing. Hope to hear from all of you soon!  
**

**Presley, Elvis. "Heartbreak Hotel." _AZLyrics. _MUSIXMATCH, n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.  
**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

"Morning." I said as my uncle came out of his room. It had been a week since I had moved in and things were getting a little better. I had at least given up the thought of running. The place was starting to grow on me...not that I'd admit it to my aunt or uncle.

"You're up early." He said as he rubbed his eyes blearily and sat in chair in across from me in the living room. For the past few days, I had been pondering endlessly over my father's secrets, making for more sleepless nights. Last night, I had played out on the fire escape again, but found no rest. I only caught a few good hours of sleep before I gave up and decided to sit in the living room and read until morning.

"Couldn't sleep." I replied as I set down my book.

"_The Giver_?"

"Good book. Really gets you to question society and the possibilities of a human utopia."

"This early in the morning?"

"Eh, I'm a big thinker." I said as he switched on the TV to CNN.

"What are you two doing up this early?" Natasha came out and joined us, sitting on the couch across from me. I was still weary of her. She was kind from what I had seen, but there was something about her that seemed...fierce.

"Couldn't sleep." We replied in unison.

"And neither could you, apparently." Uncle Clint said.

"I'm not a late sleeper." She said as she shifted her gaze to the screen. However, the silence didn't last long.

"So, I was thinking," Natasha said as she looked at me, "you don't nearly have enough clothes with you." She had noticed the small amount of baggage I had carried with me from the plane. Dad and I didn't have a lot, but we always made do.

"I was thinking that we could go shopping. Get some new clothes for you." I had to admit, the clothes I already had were getting worn too. I was starting to see small holes in the knees of my jeans...and my shoes, well, I hadn't taken on a new pair in three years, let's just say that.

"You really don't have to."

"I insist." She urged with sincerity.

"Ummm...okay." I agreed. It wasn't like there was anything else to do today. And staying in the apartment was getting pretty boring. Maybe getting a chance to know my aunt was a good thing. Maybe.

About ten we headed out, opting to walk instead of drive since New York City was known for its chaotic and and outrageous traffic. I could see that as we walked, my aunt was getting a lot of stares from the crowd of people. I shrugged it off because I figured she was the type of woman to gain attention, with her assertive personality, fiery red hair and attractive features. But I noticed that she quickly put on her sunglasses as the number of onlookers increased. And the Sun wasn't even in her eyes. Odd. Why would she need those?

I realized I had no idea where we were headed until she unexpectedly turned into a clothing store. I felt really odd standing in my old, worn out clothes from discount stores amidst the very modern, expensive wear that was in here.

"I think you need a few new pairs of jeans first." She said, half-dragging me over to the jean department. As she looked around, my eyes nearly bulged out of my head as I saw the prices.

"Ummm...Natasha?" She glanced over at me. "Don't you think these jeans are a bit expensive?" She smiled at me.

"It's nothing. Believe me."

"You sure?"

"Trust me. Your uncle and I's jobs can more than pay for amenities like these."

"What do you two do, exactly?" She paused for a moment.

"Real estate."

"In this housing market?"

"I know how to persuade people." There was an unsettling tinge of mystery behind that statement, leaving me very unwilling to interrogate her further.

She pulled out about a bazillion pairs of jeans and a bazillion more pairs of shoes. I thought I was going to drown in the sea of clothes.

"No skinny jeans!" I exclaimed as I tossed the pair over the dressing room door.

"But you'd look great!"

"No. I do not like them." And that was true. I didn't like things that clung extremely tight to me. That's what I got from living around a man for most of my teenage years.

"I'm still getting you one pair." She wasn't going to take no for an answer.

However, I did get a few nice pair of jeans and shoes. However, the worst was yet to come. She tried to shove me into some girly pink shirts, which I promptly refused.

"No pink." I said, looking disdainfully at the pink garment. It made my eyes sore just looking at it.

"But it matches you perfectly." She put the shirt against me, but it didn't faze me, not one bit.

"No pink." I repeated.

"I'm still getting it."

"Don't expect me to wear it."

"You will."

"You'll have to put it over my dead body."

"Keep arguing and I just might." For a second, I believed her. When she gave me a joking smile, I relaxed. We continued to look around in other shops, although our arms were getting tired from carrying our bags.

"Hey, cool." I said as I looked at the window of a toy store. It was a figurine set of my all-time favorite team: the Avengers. "I didn't know they actually made figurines out of them."

"You like the Avengers?" My aunt asked me, eyebrow raised.

"They're only the most awesome people in the whole world." I felt like a such a child, idolizing the six superheroes. "I know. Really childish, huh?"

"No, not at all." She said as she looked at the figurines. "Who's your favorite?"

"The one they call Hawkeye, by far." I responded, idolizing the doll with the bow and arrow. "He may not have a magic hammer or an Iron Man suit, but he must be pretty awesome to take out aliens with just a bow and arrow." I paused and glanced at her. "Do you like them?"

"Yes." She answered, much to my surprise. "Although I much prefer the Black Widow myself."

"You look like her." I commented as I looked from her to the small doll. Actually, she looked a _lot_ like her.

"Fancy that." She said. "Well, I say we've done enough shopping for today. How about some lunch?"

"That would be great."

We actually had a great time at lunch. I learned a lot about her; like that she could speak Latin and knew a lot about martial arts. She liked that fact that I was really into sports and loved to read. She wasn't always the overly-assertive person I made her out to be. She could be laid back when one had a chance to know her. And she wasn't fake when it came to being kind to me, her eyes and smile showing her sincerity in her actions and words. I came to realize that this whole shopping trip was her going out of her way to show kindness to a person she didn't even know. It made me think that I might actually like her...and that she might like me too.

When we came back from the day of shopping, our bags making it almost impossible for us to squeeze through the door, we found my uncle sitting on the couch watching basketball.

"It looks like the trip was a success." He commented.

"More than that." I said, throwing him a bag from a bakery we had stopped at.

"Hey, a brownie with cream cheese icing. My favorite." He said as he took a giant bite out of the delicious morsel.

"We figured after leaving you home alone all day that you deserved something nice." I said as I strolled away with my things. When I noticed that there was abrupt silence, I turned around to find both of them looking at me oddly.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"You called this place home." Aunt Nat said, bewilderment covering her usually calm face.

I did call it home.

"Oh. Well...it's where my family is, so I guess it's home." That's when I realized I just called them family. Oh goodness, I must be scaring the heck out of them. In fact, I was scaring myself.

"Well, ummm...see ya later." I said as I shuffled over to my room and locked myself in. But outside I could hear them.

"Wow, Nat. What did you do to get her to say that?" My uncle asked.

"I don't know." She sounded so shocked and confused, yet, happy? And so did he for that matter.

So now I was really confused. A week ago I hated both of them and now I was calling them my family? What was going on with me?

**Later that night...**

It was about two in the morning and I was sitting on the fire escape again, my uncle's guitar in hand.

_"You make me so lonely baby,  
_

_I get so lonely baby,  
_

_I get so lonely I could die" (Presley)  
_

I sung the words slowly, totally killing the Elvis Presley theme, but getting out the meaning. I was missing Dad. All I could think about was his face. I remembered the way he kissed me goodbye before dropping me off at school that day. Little had I known I was never going to see him again. Never to hear his voice again say 'I love you' or hear his laugh when I made a bad joke, or play another song with me on a Sunday afternoon.

"You're a terrible Elvis impersonator." I almost fell off the fire escape in surprise as I recognized my uncle's voice. I turned around and saw him poking his head out the window, his expression unreadable.

"Uncle Clint, I-I'm so sorry. I...I didn't mean to..."

"Mind if I play with you?"

"What?" I asked. He pulled out another guitar. It looked brand new.

"I'd like to play along with you, if you don't mind." He managed to squeeze himself through the window and sit next to me.

"Okay." I said, really confused. Was this a joke or for real?

"Well, shall we start?" He asked. I strummed a few notes and he joined along with me. How long had he known about this? When we finished, he looked at me.

"What about "Bruises" by _Train_?" He asked.

"You've known all along, haven't you?" I stated. He set the guitar down.

"From the first night." I stared down at the ground below. Was he going to punish me? Ground me? Yell at me?

"I understand." He said and I looked at him with surprise and confusion.

"What?" I asked.

"I know what you're feeling." My uncle said. "And I know the last thing you want to do is talk about it, but..."

"I think I want to go to bed." I said, but he grabbed my arm before I had the chance to leave.

"Hannah, you can't avoid this subject forever." I knew I couldn't, but I was sure trying.

"It hurts to talk about it." I admitted. "I'm afraid if I start talking about him, then I'll start crying."

"Then cry." My uncle said. "Anything is better than locking yourself up inside."

"When Mom died, he was all I had." I started. "Mom had no other family, and neither did Dad that I knew of. For a long time, the house felt empty, but it slowly started to feel normal again." Once I started, I couldn't stop. "Dad and I were doing fine up until his car accident. Then everything changed." I started talking about the pain and emptiness I felt from his death; the cold loneliness of having no one else in the world. I even told him about the hatred I felt towards him and Aunt Nat. How, after all this time, I was going to some people that never cared to contact us in years. It felt horrible to admit, but when I was done, I felt a great weight lifted off my shoulders. And there were tears. Lots of them. My uncle sat quietly beside me, his arm comfortingly wrapped around my shoulders and I was leaning against him for support. It reminded me of how Dad would react after Mom died and we both missed her terribly.

"There isn't a moment that goes by that I don't regret contacting my brother." He told me. "I suppose we were both too prideful." He looked at me. "But don't think for a moment that if I had known about you that I wouldn't have come." And he meant it. His eyes showed the sincerity in his words.

"I'm sorry...about everything." I said with a sniffle.

"All's forgiven." He said simply.

"That easy?" I asked and he nodded.

"We're family, remember?" He said. Family. It felt good to have one again. "Now, do you mind if we go inside? It's freezing out here." We both headed back inside.

"And one last thing." He said before we went back to bed. "Let's leave the guitar playing for daylight hours."

"Agreed." I said as I set the guitar down.

"Oh, and that's yours now, so would you please take that one to your room so I can have some space for my new one?" He said as he handed me mine and placed his new guitar in the corner.

"Thanks Uncle Clint." I said as I headed off to my room. I slept the whole night through.

* * *

**Hey, did you notice...she called Natasha 'Aunt Nat!' I'd say we're making progress! Oh, and sorry all you who are big punctuation fanatics (of which I am one). I have not been titling 'Uncle Clint' correctly, usually with 'uncle Clint,' which is totally wrong. My bad. **


	6. Chapter 6

**I know you all have been dying to know about whether or not Hannah will meet the Avengers, and why, for crying out loud, I haven't done it already. Well, I can tell you now, from here on out, there will Avengers in EVERY chapter. The next chapter will include all of them, but this chapter right here will introduce our favorite Captain. Enjoy!  
**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

**Clint's P.O.V.**

The past few weeks had been a real turnaround for Hannah, Nat and I. What had started out as something dreadful had turned into something, dare I say it, wonderful. Not a real popular word for me, but it was nonetheless true. Hannah and I would wake Nat up every morning with the sound of our strumming and would have an irritated look on her face.

"It's starting to get old." She said this particular morning as she walked out of our bedroom.

"Ah, come on Nat. You know you like it." I teased and she glared at me with those beautiful eyes of hers.

"I already have an alarm clock, thank you very much." She said as she sat down beside us.

"So...I was thinking, maybe we should go out to get breakfast." I started.

"I second that motion." Hannah agreed.

"I think I'll let you two go on ahead." Natasha said tiredly. "I need another hour of sleep."

"Alright. We'll bring you some Starbucks." I said and we headed out the door.

**Hannah's P.O.V.**

"Okay, so hockey player or barber?"

"Hockey player. Far more fun to knock people over." Uncle Clint answered as we were sitting down at a small diner eating breakfast. "Truck driver or ballet dancer?"

"Ugh. Truck driver. Those tutus are hideous." I said and he laughed as we continued our ridiculous game. We had been at it for about ten minutes and I had learned he would rather be a valet than a traveling salesman because 'they get to drive other people's nice cars,' a ninja than a dentist, and a rock-and roll-star than a doctor( go figure given his musical abilities.)

"Can't help but agree with you there." He said before he scooped another bite of eggs in his mouth.

"Clint? Is that you?" A voice from behind asked. We both turned to find a very tall, muscular blonde man standing in front of us. He had to be a good foot, maybe even higher, than me.

"Steve, good to see you again." Clint said as he got up and shook the man's hand. I watched them in silent curiosity. Who was this guy?

"I haven't seen you since...you know."

"It's only been a few months, but it seems like forever ago." My uncle said, lost in conversation about whatever it was they couldn't mention in public. Their conversation was dropped however when the man named Steve looked at me.

"And who is this?" He asked curiously.

"Her name's Hannah, Hannah Barton." Steve's eyes grew wide at the mention of my last name.

"You never said you had a dau..."

"Niece." He quickly corrected him.

"Oh." He said as he put out his hand towards me. "Nice to meet you, Hannah."

"Pleasure's all mine." I said, returning the handshake and he smiled.

"Are you just visiting?" He asked.

"I'm more of a...permanent resident." He raised an eyebrow. "My father passed away and I'm staying with my aunt and uncle."

"You two got married?" He asked and Clint nodded, a small grin forming at the corners of his mouth. "Congratulations!"

"We were going to tell you at the next meeting, but that hasn't exactly happened yet."

"The team and I were talking about convening for another one soon." Steve informed him.

"Meeting?" I asked.

"Just a work meeting." Uncle Clint answered. Steve passed an odd look to him, but quickly removed it.

"I'll call you when we have a time and date." He said to him before looking to me. "It was nice to meet you, Hannah."

"Nice to meet you too, Steve." I said and he strode off out of the diner.

"Good friend of yours?" I asked and he nodded.

"Good business partner too."

We finished our breakfast and picked up a coffee and a muffin for Natasha before heading back to the apartment.

"Nat, you'll never guess who I saw..." My uncle was cut off as we entered the apartment by the sound of gunshots and bullets whizzing passed our heads.

"Hannah, get down!" My uncle shouted, dropping the contents of coffee and bakery goods and jumping on top of me. I was instantly filled with fear.

"Clint, get her out of here!" I heard my aunt's voice shout from the apartment.

"Get out of here." He repeated to me, shoving me out of his grip and near the stairway. "And don't stop running." In fear, I did as he said. I could still hear the gun..or guns... going off as I bolted down the second flight of stairs. I paused, suddenly filled with rage. Why was I running? I had already lost someone close to me. And I'll be darned if I was going to lose any more members of my family. I retraced my steps and made it to the apartment floor, the gun still relentlessly going off. I thought hard to remember some self defense moves.

"Remember to S-I-N-G." I told myself, remembering the movie _Miss Congeniality_. However, I hardly believed that that move was going to work. But whatever I was going to do, I silently prayed that if I did attempt it, that it was real and not just a made-up movie move. I suddenly heard a cry, and, fearing it was my aunt or uncle, I swiftly moved into the apartment, hiding behind the front door. I peeked out of my makeshift hideaway to see a man dressed in black, his face cold and his eyes matching his expression. His eyes and gun were fixated on a door that had already been shot about a million times. He was so focused on the door that he didn't even notice me come in.

I slowly moved the door away from me, leaving my body completely exposed. I had to do this quick if I expected to come out alive. I took a silent breath, hoping against hope that this was going to work. I was so close to him I could smell him. For a moment, I almost stepped back. But in a both brave (and I suppose foolish decision), I kicked him in the back of his knee, making him fall on the ground. I rushed at him and jammed my foot on his hand, making him cry out in pain and anguish. He let go of the gun and I retrieved it in an instant.

"Make one move and I'll blow your head off." I threatened. His once-cold eyes were now filled with fear.

"Hannah?" My aunt's voice, very befuddled, asked as the badly damaged door opened a peek. I didn't take the time to look over, afraid of whatever this guy could do while my back was turned.

"Hannah, you can let the gun down now." My uncle reassured me as he appeared at my side, pointing a gun of his own at the man as well. Adrenaline and fear were still pulsing through my veins and I didn't know if I could let my weapon down.

"Hannah, it's okay now. We've got him." My aunt said soothingly as she gently placed her hand on mine. I started to relax and slowly lowered the gun, which she quickly took from me.

"Have you called in someone?" My aunt asked my uncle and he nodded.

"I thought Cap might be a bit quicker than S.H.I.E.L.D. He's on his way here now." I had no idea who Cap or S.H.I.E.L.D. was, but I decided now wasn't the time for questions as I looked at the man who was now pleading for his life.

"Please, don't kill me." He said to my uncle in desperation.

"Don't move and I won't." My uncle replied sternly. That's when I heard loud footfalls coming to the apartment.

"Get behind me." My aunt ordered and I did as I was told as she pointed a gun at the door. However, there was not another man dressed in black, but a man with a red, white and blue outfit and mask. I instantly recognized him from the New York footage on TV: Captain America. Wait, why was he here?

"Everyone alright?" He asked as my aunt lowered her weapon and turned to the man in black.

"We got him."

"Well, actually, she did." My uncle motioned his head to me.

"You?" Captain America asked in surprise.

"Yes...I guess." I answered.

"She did great, Cap. She had him on the ground in nothing flat." My aunt praised me.

"It was nothing. Really." I said modestly as I shuffled my feet.

"Little brat." I heard the man mutter. Guess he wasn't so scared as much as furious that he got his butt kicked by a teenager.

"Be quiet." My uncle spat.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. should be here shortly." Captain America informed us.

"Good. They can take him in for questioning."

"What's S.H.I.E.L.D. and why is Captain America standing in our living room?" I blurted out. I didn't mean to be so blunt. It just came out.

"Hannah, ummm...there's a lot of explaining we have to do." My uncle said.

"Like what?" I asked. But I wasn't about to get my answer because several men in suits, some in black uniforms with eagle emblems on the shoulder, came in, guns drawn.

"It's alright. We've got him." My uncle assured them, lowering his weapon. That's when a very tall African American man entered the room, dressed all in black. Everyone stopped in their tracks as he entered. What made him more scary (or more piratey) was that he had a black eye patch. He looked at my aunt and uncle for a moment, then to the bad guy.

"Take him in for questioning." He ordered his men and they quickly took him out of the room, leaving me, my relatives and Captain America.

"Cap, would you mind removing her?" He asked Captain America, his one eye shifting to me. I was filled with fear at the one eye, which packed a lot more power than could be mustered with two, possibly even three eyes, if you get my gif.

"It's alright, Director. She's my niece." Uncle Clint said.

"Nevertheless, I don't believe this is the proper time to explain your jobs to her." The eye-patch man said.

"Very well. Cap, would you take her for a moment please?" My uncle asked.

"Ma'am?" Captain America said to me. Deciding to ask questions (of which there were loads) later, I followed him outside and shut the apartment door behind me.

"You alright?" He asked me and I nodded. I was more stunned than anything. What was a gunman doing in my home? What was he doing shooting at my aunt and uncle? What was S.H.I.E.L.D.? And why was Captain America involved? The list went on and on.

"You did great in there." He complimented me.

"Why are you here?" I asked curiously. If I had been a normal state, I probably wouldn't be so straight-forward. However, everything around me was anything but normal.

"Your aunt and uncle, I work with them." He explained.

"_They_ work with the Avengers?" I asked in astonishment. He slowly took his mask off and my jaw dropped. It was Steve from the diner.

"You?" I asked and he chuckled.

"There's a little more to me that meets the eye."

"How did my aunt and uncle end up working with the Avengers?"

"They are Avengers." He said and my jaw dropped even further.

"What?"

"Cap, I think we'll take it from here." Aunt Nat said with a very tired smile.

"Sorry. I know I'm not much help." He said as he started to leave. "Hannah, it was good to see you again." I gave him a faint smile before he went down the stairs and disappeared from sight.

"Again?" She asked.

"We met him at a diner this morning." I explained and we both went inside the now trashed and damaged apartment.

"Hannah, go pack your things. We're leaving." My uncle said before I could even say a word.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"We'll tell you on the way there." He said as he and Aunt Nat went to their room to pack. I followed suit and started packing my things, which I noticed were quite a few bags more than when I had gotten here. I noticed the picture of Mom, Dad and I was broken on the floor and I gently picked it up and let the glass sprinkle on the floor. The picture was still intact, but the frame was broken beyond repair. A small piece of paper floated onto the floor and I picked it up. Not having the time to look at it, I shoved it in my pocket to look at later. I shifted my gaze to the walls of my bedroom that were now studded with bullet holes. I shuddered when I realized that I could easily have been in here. Placing the picture gently in my suitcase, I grabbed my guitar and was ready to go. My aunt and uncle were already waiting.

"Ready?" Uncle Clint asked and I nodded. There was a car with the same eagle emblem as the men in black that had just taken the bad guy away and the same emblem from the side of the plane when I had first gotten here. We put our things in the trunk of the car and I hopped in-between my family.

"Later." My uncle said, knowing I was dying to unleash the questions welling up inside of me. I sighed. This was going to be a long day. However, he did give me some basic information, like the fact that we were headed to Stark Tower because that was the safest place for us right now. More answers would come later.

* * *

**Wahoo! One Avenger down, several more to go. Guess what? We get to meet them all in the next chapter! EEEEEEEEE! Please, please, PLEASE be sure to review and tell me what you all thought of this chapter! I'm dying to know what you all are thinking!  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Oh my goodness! The reviews I've gotten are absolutely amazing! Thank you all so much for reviewing! Please keep them coming! It really makes me writing this story , and I know I've kept you all on edge for Hannah introduction to the Avengers. So sorry about that. College has been so busy and I've had to work extra hard so I won't have homework this weekend so I can go visit some family a few hours away. So I won't be updating this weekend. Sorry readers! (But I would if I could!) But I hope you enjoy this chapter anyways!  
**

**And now, for your reading pleasure... the Avengers!  
**

**Train. "Bruises." _AZLyrics. _MUSIXMATCH, n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2013.**

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**Chapter Seven**

Stark Tower was a lot bigger when you were looking at it from the ground. My family and I stared at it for a moment before shuffling inside with our bags. Steve, now in normal attire, was waiting for us at the door.

"You mean you don't wear the suit all the time?" I asked and I heard my uncle snort.

"No, Hannah. He doesn't go gallivanting in the suit all day long like some trick-or-treater."

"I do NOT look like a trick-or-treater." Steve objected and my uncle had a small grin on the edges of his lips that said 'yeah right.'

"Yes, really." Steve said. "Besides that suits too itchy to wear all the time. Anyways, may I take your bags?" He asked me and I obliged.

"Thanks." I said, handing him a bag. I didn't realize until after I let it off how much it was killing my shoulder. We filed into the elevator and Steve pressed the highest button.

"Good afternoon Captain, Agent Barton and erm...Agent Barton." A voice said out of nowhere. "And guest."

"What was that?" I asked, confused at the mysterious voice out of nowhere. My uncle chuckled.

"His name's JARVIS and he's an A.I." Oh. Artificial Intelligence, eh? Cause that wasn't freaky enough.

"Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts are awaiting your arrival." The voice called JARVIS continued.

"So, we're going to meet Tony Stark? _The_ Tony Stark?" I clarified. It was hard not to sound excited when I was going to meet the one and only Iron Man.

"Trust me, he's not as great as you think." Steve said dully.

"What do you mean?"

"He's a little...insane." Aunt Nat explained.

"Try very." Uncle Clint exaggerated.

"Self-obsessed, egotistical." Steve continued.

"Doesn't play well with others by any means." My uncle finished.

"But that's what makes him cool." I said, knowing full well from all the publicity he was all of those things. Still, he was pretty awesome.

"Ha! He'll get on your nerves after a while." Steve said as the elevator doors opened. And there standing in the middle of the living area was _the_ Tony Stark.

"Clint, Natasha, so good to see you again." Stark said as we walked in. "And who is this that you've brought with you?" He looked at me.

"Hannah, Hannah Barton." I replied and he turned his head to my uncle in question.

"You're a little young to have a daughter this age, aren't you?" My uncle rolled his eyes.

"She's my niece, Stark."

"How long is she staying?" Tony asked.

"Tony, that's no way to talk to our guests." Pepper Potts reprimanded and turned towards me. "Feel free to stay as long as you like."

"Thank you." I said gratefully. She really was as nice as she was on TV. "I'll show you your rooms." Pepper said and she led us down a hallway. She stopped at the last few rooms down the hall, at which there was a giant window looking out into New York City.

"This one's all yours." She said as she opened a door for my aunt and uncle.

"Thank you, once again." Aunt Nat said to Pepper as Uncle Clint took the bags.

"It's not a problem. Actually, Tony was hoping that you would move in. He's starting to call it Avenger's Tower."

"Why am I not surprised?" She asked and the two shared a casual laugh like long-time friends..

"I'll call you when dinner's ready." Pepper said and she left the two to themselves, leaving me with her.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Pepper Potts."

"I believe you already know who I am." I said. "It's nice to meet you, all the same."

"Thank you." She said as she showed me my room across the hall. "This is your room."

And it was an amazing room. There was a huge window to see across New York City from up top. I was so dazzled by it that I forgot that Pepper was even there.

"Like your room?" She asked, bringing me back to reality. I turned to her.

"Yes. Thank you so much for letting me stay here." I said. She looked like she was going to say something else, but quickly decided against it.

"I'll let you know when dinner's ready."

"Thanks."

She left and I was was back to setting up in my new room. It was about six when JARVIS spoke up.

"Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts wish for you to know that dinner is ready." The A.I. informed me.

"Thanks, JARVIS." I knew he was just a machine, but it was still good to be polite, right?

I wandered out of my room and found my aunt and uncle. We made our way back to the living area again, only to find several other people there. I could easily make out the faces. Steve, Tony, Pepper...and then a man with messy brown hair and glasses, that had to be Dr. Banner, aka the Hulk, and a huge muscular guy with long blonde hair and a hammer attached to his hip, and of course, with the superhero trademark red cape: Thor.

"Clint, Natasha, so good of you to join us!" Thor said joyfully. "And who is our guest?"

"This is my niece, Hannah." My uncle said, placing his hand on my shoulder. "She'll be staying here as long as we live here."

"It's nice to meet you, Lady Hannah." Thor said, taking my hand and kissing it lightly. I tried hard not to blush.

"This is Thor, if you didn't already know." Aunt Nat said. "And this man over here," she referred to the man in the glasses, "is Dr. Banner."

"Dr. Banner." I said politely.

"Call me Bruce." He said as we shook hands.

"Well, now that we've got all the greetings squared away, let's eat!" Tony said, clapping his hands together. I had to admit, there was a lot to eat. More than I had ever seen on a table, let me tell you. It was a BBQ-themed meal, with ribs, corn on the cob, and anything else a BBQ included. Whoever had cooked it had outdone themselves.

"This meat...it's delicious!" Thor said as he held up another rib in his fingers,now covered in BBQ sauce, and bit into it.

"Let me guess who cooked it..." Aunt Nat said as she looked towards Pepper.

"Me!" Tony exclaimed and my uncle snorted.

"I've seen your cooking, Stark. You couldn't even attempt this."

"Hey!" Tony said, putting on a pouty face.

"Thanks Pepper for the meal." Bruce said and Pepper smiled.

"I was delighted to get to cook for once. I rarely get to anymore because of the company."

"Speaking of which, how is it going?" Someone asked.

Not really caring to hear about business and such, I remained quiet and to myself as I nibbled on some corn. However, I wasn't ignored for long.

"So, Hannah, how long are you staying here?" Tony said, catching me completely off guard.

"Tony, she's a guest. Don't be rude." Pepper said sternly.

"I'm just asking." He said innocently as he looked at me, clearly still expecting an answer.

"She's here as long as we're here." Uncle Clint spoke up, giving Tony a look that said to shut his mouth. But he must have missed it (or ignored it), because he continued.

"Why are you staying with the two master assassins? Just some kid your parents dropped off and..."

"Shut it, Stark." Aunt Nat barked fiercely. I looked at Stark, partly angry and sad.

"My parents are dead." I slowly got up and left the room, hoping that no one could see the tears that were now forming in my eyes.

**Later...**

I sat in my room, watching the New York City lights from the top of the Tower. I was trying to forget, not only about Stark, but about my parents. Mom, although her death had been a long time ago, still left a bitter sting. And losing Dad was still a wound that was fresh and painful. I tried to fall asleep, but my thoughts and emotions made it impossible.

I started to reminisce about my parents. I could remember when I was little and Mom would brush through my hair, how she would stroke my head after she was done and call me her 'baby girl.' Dad would throw me in the air and play airplanes, just like the airplanes we would go see take off at the airport on special nights. Then I shifted to closer memories. When Mom was on her deathbed, she looked so pale and weak. She still managed to smile and call me her 'baby girl.' She was keeping strong for her thirteen year-old daughter, but I was old enough to see she was fading fast. Dad was a wreck. He would subconsciously pace around the house in circles, not knowing what to do as his wife lay dying on their bed. And then shifting to a few weeks ago. The last morning I saw him he had kissed me on the forehead as I rushed off to school so I wouldn't be late for class. Oh, how I wish I could have been a few minutes late for that not-so-important class.

"Hannah?" My uncle's voice interrupted my thoughts. I didn't say anything, but just kept staring out the window. I felt him sit on the bed beside me. "You alright?"

"No." I responded sadly.

"If it helps, no one would talk to him at all after you left. Not even Pepper." That made me laugh.

"Really?" He smiled, happy that he could put a smile on my face.

"Really." There was silence for a moment. "Want to play?"

"Yeah." I responded. He dashed off to his room and I went to get my guitar. He was back in an instant with his instrument.

"I never did get to play 'Bruises' with you."

"That sounds okay." I agreed.

Once we started going, we'd like to never have stopped.

_"Loses the vibe that separates_  
_It's good to let you in again_  
_You're not alone in how you've been"_

I wasn't alone in how I was feeling. I had my uncle who knew full well what I was going through. And it felt good to have someone.

_"Everybody loses, we all got bruises_  
_We all got bruises" (Train).  
_

"When did you start playing guitar?" I asked him curiously.

"When I was around your age." He told me. "Whenever I thought of your father, I would start to play."

"Did you miss him?" He nodded.

"Terribly." He turned to me, his face serious. "You know you can always talk to me...about anything."

"Thanks." I said. "So...can you answer some of my questions, Hawkeye?" He grinned. It didn't take rocket science to count down all of the Avengers. Hawkeye and Black Widow were the only ones that were left.

"What would you like to know?" Oh boy, this was going to be a long night. He told me all about the secret government agency that he worked for and what they did. Although they were master assassins, that didn't make a difference for me. They were my aunt and uncle, and that's what they would always be to me.

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**Clint's P.O.V.**

I had never come so close to killing someone and having to restrain myself as I did at the dinner table that night. I had almost lunged at Stark, and I knew Nat was feeling the same. We had become a family in the short time we had all been together, and seeing Hannah in pain was like getting hurt ourselves. On the bright side, the conversation we had in her room made my day. I couldn't believe I was her favorite Avenger. What were the odds? Nat had failed to mention that when she and Hannah had gone on their girl's day out.

"Is she alright?" Nat asked, setting down one of her books as she sat up on the bed.

"She's going to be fine. I just wish Stark knew when to shut his big mouth."

"You would think a genius like himself would think before saying something."

"I'm beginning to think he's not the sharpest tool in the shed. Ticking off some master assassins isn't very intelligent." She laughed at this.

"We could get him back." She suggested with an evil smirk.

"Tomorrow." I agreed. "After he apologizes to Hannah."

"Pepper said she would make him do it...and he was going to mean it." I snorted.

"Since when does he go making sincere apologies?"

"Since Pepper." She said. She then quickly moved on to another subject. "Clint, we need to talk."

"What about?"

"Today. The gunmen. You know he was an assassin sent to kill us. He had the emblem." The emblem. Visions of gunfire from months ago on a past mission flashed through my brain, but I quickly set them aside.

"Where?"

"On his neck."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Hannah." She answered.

"Oh." I said softly.

"Clint, I don't think we ever took the time to discuss the gravity of her being here." Nat started.

"Nat, I really don't want to discuss this right now."

"What she did today, although admirable, was dangerous all the same. You know that if she stays with us that she's going to be in danger." It was an undeniable fact, one that I desperately wanted to avoid. Just when I had found family, the thought of losing it again was gut-wrenching.

"Night, Nat." I said as I hopped into bed and turned off the light. I could still feel her eyes glaring at me in the dark.

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**So tell me, what did you all think? Please, please, please review! I'm literally on the edge of my seat dying to know what you all think! And thanks for reading!  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**I think you're all going to like this chapter! It involves a certain redhead and a basketball. Enjoy! And, as always, please review!**

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**Chapter Eight**

My eyes fluttered open to the dim lighting of my new room. I almost had a panic attack until I remembered yesterday's events.

"Good morning, Ms. Barton." Now that sent my heart up to my throat. It took me a moment to remember it was JARVIS.

"Morning." I muttered to the A.I. "What time is it anyway?"

"My systems read 5:30." I groaned. "Is something the matter?"

"It's too early." I said as I flopped back into bed. For the next ten minutes, I tried to go back into sleep mode, but my efforts proved futile. I groaned once more as I got around and was out by six. My aunt and uncle were still asleep, so I decided to go to the living area, maybe flip on the TV. As I turned the corner, however, the last person I wanted to meet was sitting on the couch. I turned, trying to leave before he could even take notice.

"Hannah." Too late. I poked my head back from around the corner.

"Yes?" I asked Tony wearily. He gestured me over to him. I inwardly sighed and drug myself in front of him. "Is there something you wanted?"

"I've been rethinking some things...particularly the events of yesterday's dinner." He was looking down at his now-twiddling thumbs.

"Look, I really don't want to talk about this." It was already weird enough I was talking to Tony Stark, but stranger to get any sort of pity from him.

"I'm sorry about what I said. I'm sort of..."

"A jerk?" It took a moment, but he nodded.

"And I'm sorry."

"It's alright. My Dad just died two weeks ago, so it's not easy."

"No, it's not."

"What do you know about losing parents?" I asked him.

"I lost both of mine in a car accident when I was...well...your age."

"Wow." I said, shocked. "I'm sorry."

"It's still not easy, even after all these years." I could tell he felt a little awkward, getting so personal and such.

"Why do I get a feeling you're not used to talking about this?"

"Because I'm not." He answered. "But it's good to talk it out sometimes, I find."

"Yeah, I suppose it is." I agreed and turned to the television screen. "Soccer?"

"You like soccer?"

"Heck yeah!"

"Then by all means, have a seat."

"Thank you, Mr. Stark."

"Call me Tony."

**Later that morning...**

Breakfast had been a real show. Thor had managed to break several coffee mugs, shouting 'another' in a loud, boisterous voice each time. I, as well as everyone else, had tried to stifle our laughs as a very annoyed Tony had to call a device called Dummy to clean it up. After everyone had dispersed, I was sitting on the couch reading a book, whilst everyone did whatever they did while here.

"Hey, Hannah." Steve said and I closed my book shut. He was carrying a massive punching bag, one I could never dream of lifting.

"Hey, Steve." I said. "Where you headed?"

"The gym."

"There's a gym here?" He smiled.

"Yeah. Want to go?"

"Sounds great." I said, hopping from the couch, abandoning my book. I hadn't had a workout in weeks, and I desperately wanted to get back into some sort or routine. We made our way to the elevator and he pressed a button that led to the fifteenth floor. The doors opened and my eyes went wide with the sight of the gym. It was in pristine condition, nothing like the gym at my high school with it's scuffed up floors and bleachers with gum underneath them. Yuck!

"This is awesome." I breathed and Steve chuckled.

"So, what do like to do? As exercise, I mean." He said, leaning the punching bag against the bleachers.

"Got any basketballs?"

Steve had no clue what basketball was, which I was shocked to hear. He may have been frozen in ice for seventy years, but for crying out loud, I would have thought the least someone could have done was teach him about one of the most popular sports in the United States. After some snooping around, JARVIS was so kind to point out where the sports equipment was stored. I pulled it out of the closet among other perfectly intact balls and bats and held it in front of Steve.

"This is a basketball." I said, passing the orange, spherical object in his direction. He looked at it curiously, running his hands over the rubber material.

"How do you play?" Teaching an almost ninety year-old superhero a modern sport? Oh, yes, this was going to be fun. However, he quickly mastered the art of dribbling, much to my surprise. But he was a terrible shot. He missed ninety-nine percent of them, to be precise. He finally scored a three-pointer, but it was short lived.

"Well, well, Cap is finally learning a good sport." Tony's voice echoed through the huge gym. Steve huffed at the comment.

"By good, you mean you like it?"

"Duh." He said, holding out his hands for Steve to pass the ball. "Hmmm...two on one? That's not very fair."

"I'll volunteer to be ref for this one." Steve offered rather quickly.

"How would you know any rules about the sport?" Tony asked as Steve stepped over to the sidelines.

"Easy. Whenever she "accidentally" (I loved his insinuating notion) smacks you when taking the ball, I'll make the call."

"Cap, don't fool yourself. I don't think she..." Tony was cut off as I grabbed the ball from his hands and gracefully completed a lay-up.

"Don't think I what?" I asked with a smirk. Steve was holding back his laughter as Tony stood near-speechless.

"Show off. But don't that it'll happen again." But it did. A _lot_. Tony may be a genius, but fast, he was not. I quickly had him at a score of 21-2, but only because I made it easy on him and let him shoot a two-pointer.

"Face it Stark, she's better than you at this." The super-soldier jeered, a content smirk on his face.

"Where did you learn to play, kid?" Tony asked through his heavy panting. I hadn't even broken a sweat.

"My dad. He was a great player."

"But not as good as me." Aunt Nat said aloud as she came in, followed by Thor.

"What is the game with the orange object?" Thor asked curiously.

"It's called basketball." Steve answered. "Very exhausting Midgardian sport."

"Mid-ga-whatian?" I asked in confusion.

"We call Earth Midgard from where I come from." Thor answered. It made me think I'd better brush up on some Norse mythology soon.

"Oh."

"Anyways, Hannah's kicking his rear majorly." Steve teased.

"Hey! I was just warming up." Tony protested.

"Ha!" I said sarcastically and he glared at me.

"What's the matter, Stark? Need a little help?" My aunt jeered.

"How about you give it a go?" He asked and she looked at me.

"I don't think I've ever seen you play." I said to Aunt Nat.

"I know a thing or two. Clint watches it all the time."

"Well then, let's give it a go." I said. She seemed up to the challenge, although she was a trained assassin. She always had her head in the game.

"Then by all means, pass me the ball." I did, and she quickly tried to move the ball around me, but I swiped the ball from her hands. Before she could make a move in my direction, I shot the ball and made an easy two points.

"Nice. But it won't be so easy next time." She warned. And she was right. I passed the ball to her and she was quicker this time, quicker than I could even imagine. She made a mad dash for the hoop and shot it in the air, evening out the score.

"Alright. I can pick up my game a little." I muttered under my breath. She passed the ball to me and I dribbled the ball between her knees and took it behind her and completed a lay up.

"Go Hannah!" I heard my uncle cheer beside the others. He must have snuck in while we were playing.

When it turned out my aunt and I were evenly matched, the whole team wanted to join in, even Bruce. Tony, Uncle Clint, and Steve were on my team, while Thor, Bruce and Aunt Nat were on the other. We figured it might eventually even out in skill.

"Pass!" Tony cried and I threw it to him. He quickly dodged Thor, only to be side-swiped by my aunt.

"Nice try." She said as she passed the ball to Bruce. He made an easy shot.

"I didn't know you were good at this sport." Tony said to the scientist.

He shrugged. "Just something to do in my free time."

Steve took the ball and checked it with Thor, with Thor knocking Steve over when he passed the ball.

"Sorry, I forget my own strength." He offered Steve a hand up.

"Here!" I yelled to Steve, but was quickly blocked by Bruce.

"Over here!" Uncle Clint cried. Aunt Nat tried to get in front of him, but he moved around her and, in one quick swoop, took the ball and sunk it in the net.

"Nice." I said and he smirked.

"I'm just that good." I could see Aunt Nat roll her eyes.

"Last point wins." Tony said a while later, which reached agreement with the group since we were all now sweaty and exhausted.

Uncle Clint met with Aunt Nat and checked the ball, only to have Aunt Nat quickly move past him the second he checked it with her.

"Here!" Thor yelled before she was blocked by Tony. She threw him the ball and he aimed for the goal, only to have it knocked out of his hands by me. I quickly took the ball and managed to keep it away from the hands of the others. Aunt Nat suddenly moved in out of nowhere, poised to win. In an instant, I aimed and fired the ball. It sunk in the net with a triumphant _swish_.

"Yes!" Tony said in triumph and gave me a high five. "Nice one, kid!"

"Not bad." Aunt Nat said. "Looks like you have some Barton in you after all." She teased.

"Ha ha." I laughed sarcastically. "Good game."

"We should play again soon." She offered.

"I'll be ready." I replied, ready for another challenge.

"But until then, who wants a drink?" Tony offered. As we all moved upstairs for some refreshments, I couldn't help but feel like I had made some new friends.

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**AWWWWW! Looks like Hannah's adjusting well to Avenger life. What do you think? Please review! I just love hearing what you think of these chapters! **


	9. Chapter 9

**Another chapter up for everyone to read! Hope you enjoy. Would love to hear a review from all of you reading!  
**

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**Chapter Nine**

Uncle Clint, Aunt Nat and I had been living in Avenger's Tower for a week. My aunt and uncle had resumed back to their work at S.H.I.E.L.D., sometimes not coming back until late at night, leaving me alone with the Avengers. And as I quickly found out, they were anything but serious when they weren't out saving the world. Today, I was with Bruce in the lab studying some sort of chemical mixture. Tony had left the room for a quick break.

"Don't touch it." Bruce reminded me, my fingers closing in on the concoction. I quickly jerked my hand back.

"Sorry." I said. "It's just so...cool." He chuckled.

"You sound like Tony."

"I'm sure he wouldn't try to touch something so dangerous." I mean, really? A super-genius billionaire wouldn't do something like that...right?

"Ha! I've caught him more than one time trying to mess with something I told him not to." Apparently so.

"Hey!" Tony's voice shouted with objection. "I only do it because I'm...testing it."

"Yeah right." Bruce murmured before turning back to his microscope. Tony went back to doing whatever the heck that he did in the lab, rather than trying to obliterate himself with chemicals. I sat on a stool and watched as they worked, keeping pretty quiet. But the silence was temporary.

"FRIENDS!" Thor's voice boomed, shaking the room as the door _swooshed_ open and hit the wall with a slam. I saw the glass bottle with the dangerous concoction start to tip over.

"NO!" Bruce shouted as it hit the floor. There was a big burst and the room was instantly covered in purple smoke. We coughed and hacked as we ran out of the room. As I looked around, I found that we were all covered in purple goop.

"Why'd you go and do that?!" Tony raised his voice at the now purple-clad Asgardian standing before him. I could tell Thor felt foolish, doing something like that.

"Hey, don't feel too bad." I said. "I've done far worse."

"Like what?" Thor asked, the group looking at me now in curiosity.

"Well, I accidentally let the second grade pet snake out into the school, making the entire student body have to evacuate the building." Now that made them laugh.

"How do you accidentally let a snake out?"

"Simple. I forgot to close the top of his cage." I explained. "And poor Ms. Withers had it slither across her leg. She got rid of it as soon as they found it in the girl's bathroom."

"That is a lot worse." Bruce said with another laugh, rubbing the purple mixture off his glasses.

"See? Don't fret." I told the big man. He smiled and clapped his large hand on my shoulder. I held back a wince.

"Thank you, small one."

"But don't do it again!" Tony ordered.

"Darn. Now we need more chemicals." Bruce said with a sigh. That's when Tony's phone rang. It was Pepper. He must have hated to get purple goo on his phone.

"Yes, dear?" He asked. "Ummm...I'm kind of in the middle of...okay, okay, I'll go. Love you. Bye." He hung up and now we all were focused on him.

"She needs me to go grocery shopping." He responded to our questioning stares.

"You? Grocery shopping? Don't you have someone for that?"

"They quit. Said I 'drove them nuts' or something like that."

"Gee, I wonder why." I said sarcastically.

"Shut up." He said. "Anyway, now I have to get cleaned up and go shopping all by myself."

"I'll go. I could use some fresh air." Bruce volunteered. "I haven't been out of here in weeks."

"What is this grocery shopping that you speak of?" Thor asked.

"Come with us and we'll show you." I said.

"Wait, now you're going?"

"Please? It gives me something to do." I begged. Besides, I secretly wondered what it would be like to go shopping with the Hulk, Iron Man and Thor. He rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to beg, you know. Get cleaned up and meet here in an hour." He said as he shook his head of hair. "Is my scalp supposed to be itching?"

In the course of an hour, however, Steve had managed to get involved in our little shopping expenditure. Claimed he was so bored of the gym that he could punch someone. Ironic, huh?

"You know, this car can only suit so many." Tony remarked as we all shuffled into the car. Thor had to have shotgun because he nearly squished me in the backseat.

"You might need to think about getting an Avenger's van." I suggested.

"Ha! Me, drive a van? No thanks."

"Ouch! Thor, can you push your seat back up? You're squishing me." Steve whined. Indeed, he had been thrust into his seat because Thor had moved the seat so far back for leg room. Bruce groaned from being squished in-between Steve and I as Tony started up the car and we zoomed off to the grocery store.

"Amazing!" Thor shouted in excitement as he gazed at the store. "I wish we had these magical doors in Asgard." He was referring to the automatic doors we just came through.

"It's not magic, it's technology." Bruce explained, but Thor, who was too amazed by his surroundings, had rushed off mid-sentence.

"Oh no." The four of us remaining said in unison as he ripped open a box and shook out its contents. Of course, the store manager just happened to be walking by and notice.

"Don't worry. He's with us." Tony assured and the manager sighed as Tony threw the box of fruit roll-ups into the cart.

"But it was just sitting there." Thor said and Tony put a hand to his face in frustration.

"Don't worry, Thor." I said. "Just don't grab anything else and open it until we get out of here, alright?"

"Agreed." The Asgardian agreed.

"Oooo, what's this?" Steve asked as he saw some Reese's.

"Oh, this is going to be a long shopping trip." Bruce muttered and I giggled as Thor and Steve wandered off, picking out anything and everything they found interesting. I could see all the stares from the other customers at Thor's Asgardian wardrobe and flowing red cape (a lot like Superman if you ask me, but way more awesome!). Whilst Bruce, Tony and I shopped for whatever was on Pepper's grocery list, Thor and Steve kept finding us again and loading more things in the cart until it was all full. Then came the checkout.

"You guys cost me a fortune." Tony muttered under his breath as he handed the lady his credit card.

"Oh, darn!" He suddenly said aloud.

"What is the matter, friend?" Thor asked at his friend's frustration.

"I forgot the peanut butter." Sure enough, it was there on display, built into a small replica of the Empire State building. Why? I have no clue. And guess where Thor went to get it? Yeah, not good.

"No, Thor!" Steve shouted, but it was too late. Thor grabbed right into the heart of the tower, causing it to shake and then it began to tumble to the ground. And right there was the store manager. Weren't we just the luckiest people on the planet?

"Here." Tony said, throwing the clerk a few hundred dollar bills. "For all the peanut butter." He then looked to us and Thor. "Run!" He commanded. And we ran like heck, groceries in tow and crammed into the car. Tony slammed on the gas pedal and made a mad dash out of the parking lot as the store manager ran after us, his face bright red.

"Really?" Bruce asked Thor. "You had to go grab _that_ jar of peanut butter?"

"I liked it." Thor said sheepishly. That's when I started to laugh. It didn't take long before Steve, then Bruce, then even Tony started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Poor Thor. He was so confused.

"All for a jar of peanut butter." I managed to say in-between fits of laughter as we went back home.

**A few hours later...**

* * *

**Clint's P.O.V.**

It had been a rough day at work. We were no closer to finding the organization that was somehow still alive after Nat and I had crushed it months ago: the Dark Hand. It was a terrorist group. And obviously they were more bent on getting revenge for the death of their leaders than anything else. Director Fury was on edge, fearing the worst. I could remember the conversation now.

_"This doesn't look promising." He told us. He was sitting in his office behind his desk, us opposite him. His face was grim, his one eye revealing his worries._

_"We know." Nat said._

_"As of this moment, we are unable to trace them." At that moment, we all knew what would have to happen next to find them. _

_"Until they strike next." Nat said. _

_"Yes." Director Fury confirmed. There was a moment of silence before he looked at us both. "I understand that you have your niece living with you now, Agent Barton." We looked to each other and then back at Fury. We knew what was coming._

_"Yes." I said. He sighed._

_"It's not safe for her." Fury said. "And I would advise you to find other living quarters for her immediately." He meant foster care. I remained silent.  
_

_"Clint?" Nat said, placing her hand on my shoulder. _

_I quickly turned and stormed out of there, feeling the Director's eye on me even after I shut the door._

Back to the present, Nat and I had been silent the whole ride back to the Tower. She knew I didn't want to talk about it, and neither did she for that matter. Nat may not want to admit it, but she was as much attached to Hannah as I was. The thought of sending her away was painful. And we'd had enough pain to last us a lifetime. The scene when we got back to the Tower brightened up our day a little.

There was the whole gang, sitting at the table playing Monopoly. Steve looked flustered amidst the vigorous playing of the the scientist, the billionaire, and my niece.

"Ha! You hit my Boardwalk." Hannah said triumphantly. "Pay up."

"Don't I get immunity or something?" Stark objected, begrudgingly handing her a few hundred dollar bills, which made his bank account terribly low.

"Nope." She said with satisfaction as she rolled the dice. However, Bruce was clearly the master of the game.

"Thank you for coming to the Kings Cross Station. I'll gladly take your money." Bruce held out his hand as Hannah gave him more money to stash into his large piles of cash.

"Looks like the Doctor has the master banking skills." Nat said jokingly.

"They already took me out." Steve replied sadly as he gazed at his little Scottie dog token.

"I still don't get this game." Thor said, bored out of his mind as he watched them move around the board. He was a warrior, not a businessman by any means.

The game continued on for another half hour, all of us entranced until finally, Tony and Hannah had to give up the last bit of their money.

"Yes!" The Doctor, out of nowhere, exclaimed. "I told you buying all those little places would pay off."

"Yeah, yeah." Tony said flatly as he started collecting all the game pieces. "Next time, I pick the game."

"How was work?" Hannah asked us. We were definitely not telling her about the conversation with Fury.

"It was alright. But nothing from the guy at the apartment." I answered her.

"Any idea where he came from?" Steve asked.

"It's an organization called the Dark Hand. A terrorist group that we thought we took out months ago." Nat explained. "Apparently not."

"Have they taken him in for questioning?" Bruce asked, putting the game in a closet.

"He's saying nothing. At least not yet."

"Will they come here for you?" Hannah asked us. The thought sent chills down my spine.

"No." I lied. "Don't worry about them."

"They wouldn't dare strike here. Not with us being around." Steve told her, placing a hand reassuringly on her back.

"I'll strike them down with Mjolnir if they do!" Thor bellowed, taking up his trusty, magical hammer.

Oh, I prayed they were right.

* * *

**I wouldn't dare mess with Thor! But really, these Dark Hand guys? They are some serious bad news! What did you all think?**


	10. Chapter 10

**I've had a little more time to work on these chapters, so I've been updating a little more. Not saying this will happen a lot, but I'm glad I found the time to do it. Just thought I'd let you know. Okay, so Hannah's misadventures with the Avengers only get better and better, as you'll see in this next chapter. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the reviews you all are putting up on the review board. Thank you so much! Keep me updated on what you like, love, and even dislike about this story. All are good to hear!  
**

**Plaint White T's. "1, 2, 3, 4." ****_AZLyrics. _MUSIXMATCH, n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2013.**

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

"Are you two sure this is safe?" Bruce asked us, worry and skepticism overshadowing his usually calm demeanor.

"Of course. Would I do something dangerous?" Tony asked the scientist with an innocent smile. Bruce raised an eyebrow in response.

"This is going to be sweet." I said with excitement as I looked down the high ramp we had built (Tony built it, but I watched). We teetered the wheelchairs we had found in a storage closet (how anyone ever thought hospital mobile devices were safe in the hands of Tony Stark, I had no idea), and decided to put them to good use. We were about to have the race of the lifetime down the ramp. Whoever won had to do dishes for the whole week.

"I thought this ramp was going to help us with our science experiments." Bruce objected.

"Of course it is." Tony assured him. "We're performing an experiment right now. On law of gravity, to be exact."

"Hey, just because you're weigh more than I do doesn't mean you're going to win." I blurted out and Bruce chuckled, whilst Tony gave me an unimpressed expression at my attempt at humor.

"You are _so_ going to lose." Tony said, looking downward at the ramp.

"Oh, come on, tt's not like it's true, _old_ man." I jeered jokingly.

"Two insults in one day. You're really asking for it." Tony warned.

"I would have thought you were used to these jokes by now." In fact, my little jokes with Tony were giving more enjoyment than anything to the group of Avengers. I was giving the man a run for his money, a long-awaited miracle for the superheroes.

"Don't be calling me old, little lady." He responded. "Steve, by far, outdoes us all in that category."

"Yeah." I agreed with a small laugh. "So are we going to do this or what?"

"On the count of three." Bruce started, although he wasn't very enthusiastic about it. "One, two..."

"THREE!" We yelled in unison and we rushed down the ramp.

I yelled in delight at the top of my lungs as the wheelchair gained momentum down the ramp. Tony was having just as much fun, mostly because Pepper wasn't telling him no. In the past two weeks, Tony and I had set the lab on fire (an accident, I assure you), used Steve's shield as a shelter for paintball (it was the only thing available in the kitchen) and set up water balloon booby traps in my aunt and uncle's bedroom (the next morning I was awoken by a bucket-full of water).

"I'm right on your tail, kid!" Tony yelled, his chair gaining on me. I wasn't about to wash filthy dishes for a week. I leaned in, ready to take the prize.

"Hey! What are you two..." Steve's voice interrupted our joy as he walked into the gym...right in the middle of the path of our wheelchairs.

"Uh oh." I gulped. "Steve, run!" He bolted for safety, barely missing us by inches.

"I won!" I yelled as our wheelchairs slowed down.

"Nu uh!" Tony protested. "I beat you by a mile!"

"Yeah right!" I argued. "Did you see how slow you were going? Grandpa speed if you ask me!"

"What are you two doing?!" Steve interrupted our arguing. "You nearly killed me."

"You shouldn't have come in front of us, Cap." As if Steve could have foreseen us racing wheelchairs down a ramp.

"Wait till I tell Pepper about..."

"Wait, wait, wait. Before you go running off telling everyone about our latest escapade, why don't you try it out yourself?" Tony enticed the good Captain.

"No way." Steve refused.

"Actually, it looked pretty fun from what I could see." Bruce mentioned, climbing down the ramp. "It's pretty safe."

"Pretty safe?" Steve asked skeptically as the looked at the structure.

"99.9% sure." Bruce clarified, nudging his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. There was a twinkle in Steve's eye...was it mischief?

"What do you say, capsicle?" Tony asked, pushing the wheelchair towards him suggestively.

For the next hour, the boys and I were racing wheelchairs down the ramp. And to our disappointment, Steve was winning.

"What's that, five times in a row I've won now?" Steve said triumphantly and we all moaned.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." I muttered, now very miffed about losing to a ninety year-old man.

"Face it, you're upset that you lost." He had this satisfied smirk on his face that made me roll my eyes.

"I don't have to admit anything." And I wasn't going to. Not at all.

"What are you all doing?!" Pepper's voice sliced through the air, making us freeze like we were all kids that just got our hands caught in the cookie jar. Uh oh.

"Well, I think I'd better be going." Bruce laughed nervously, quickly retreating from the scene.

"Ummm...actually, I forgot. I've got to help him erm...do that thing...that thing ummm...something." Steve dashed out, me right on his heels. I forgot I didn't even have an excuse.

"And I have to help him remember what it is he has to do!" I yelled behind me, leaving Tony alone with his girlfriend. Good luck getting out of that one, Tony.

**A Few Days Later...**

I had been up on the roof of Stark Tower for a while; two hours to be exact. It was late evening, the sun sinking below the horizon slowly. To reminisce on the wheelchair fiasco a few days ago...well...it was a fiasco. Uncle Clint laughed uncontrollably while Aunt Nat and Pepper were none too pleased. They started talking about it being a dangerous stunt and all that. You know, the stuff parents do to their kids when they do something stupid.

_"You could have died!" Pepper screeched at me and the others._

_"Dear, I think you're over-exaggerating." Tony pointed out._

_"Maybe not have died, but you could have broken your necks!" Aunt Nat said. "Hannah, I expected you at least to have some more common sense."_

_"Nat, don't you think you're overreacting just a tad?" Uncle Clint asked. "I've done a lot worse in the time we've been together." She flashed her 'don't argue with me' face and, fearing her wrath, he backed down._

_"We were just racing some wheelchairs." I mumbled._

_"Down a nearly twenty foot ramp. Imagine if it had busted or you couldn't stop the wheelchair and it rammed into the wall or hit someone or..."_

_Bruce stopped Aunt Nat there._

_"Actually, given the height of the ramp and the length of the distance from it to the wall, it is nearly impossible for the wheelchair not to stop by the time they reached the wall." She gave him the same glare that she gave to Uncle Clint. So much for logical reasoning winning out for me here.  
_

_"You know what I mean." She told him.  
_

_We had somehow managed to escape some sort of grounding or punishment. Uncle Clint had taken me aside later and was laughing and joking with me about it, asking if I beat them all out. Of course, I lied and said I did. Cap shouldn't get all the glory._

I laughed later when I thought of what Dad would have said at what I had done. He would have thought it hysterical, just like his brother. And of course, Mom would have been livid.

"It's dangerous." I imagined would be her words. "Don't you ever do something like that again." And then I'd see the worry in her soft eyes replaced with relief that I was okay. Just like Aunt Nat's.

I allowed my thoughts to drift back and forth between the two couples; how they were alike and how they were different. Dad and Uncle Clint were about the same with their laid-back personalities. However, Aunt Nat was far more assertive when it came to comparing her and Mom. And truthfully, I kind of liked it (but I'd never tell her that). It made her and Uncle Clint fit well together. A great team. Just like Mom and Dad.

What if they were my new replacement parents? What if they could be...?

"No." I responded aloud. Not now. Now when losing Dad was still fresh in my mind. I couldn't just abandon my father, or the thoughts of my mother. It would be like I had forgotten them. I felt ashamed for even thinking about it.

I had brought up my guitar to play, yet it had sat on the sidelines the whole time. Maybe now was time, a moment to forget the deep thoughts penetrating my emotions.

_There's only _  
_ ONE thing (one)_  
_ TWO do (two)_  
_ THREE words (three)_  
_ FOUR you... (four)_  
_ (I love you) I love you_  
_ There's only _  
_ ONE way (one)_  
_ TWO say (two)_  
_ Those THREE words (three)_  
_ And that's what I'll do... (four)_  
_ (I love you) I love you (Plain White T's).  
_

"Wow, you're pretty good." I nearly jumped out of my skin as Steve joined me on the rooftop, interrupting the harmonic notes of the guitar.

"Oh, sorry." He apologized, rubbing the back of my neck with an embarrassed smile.

"It's alright." I patted a spot beside me, retiring the guitar to where it had been for the past few hours. I wanted the company. I was quickly finding out that I didn't like being alone.

Once he had sat down, he asked, "So, what have you been doing up here? You've been gone awhile."

"You noticed?"

"Of course. You were a little...off today." There was a moment of silence before I spoke. Today hadn't been the greatest of days. I kept thinking of my parents, and this was just another moment today that I couldn't get them out of my mind.

"Just thinking...about my parents." I looked out to the horizon with sadness.

"Oh." He said softly. "I'm..."

"You don't have to say you're sorry." I cut him off, though not harshly. I looked at him and explained, "There's nothing to be sorry about."

"You lost your parents. It's okay to be sad." I breathed in deeply, holding back a few tears.

"It's alright." I said.

"I lost my parents too when I was your age." He told me.

"What?"

"I was an orphan just like you. Mom and Dad died before I went into the army."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright." He assured me. "But it still hurts to think of them." He paused for a moment, contemplating on something before he went on. "I remember feeling so alone. I felt like I had no one." He then turned to me. "But I had a good friend to help me through it. His name was Bucky. He was my best friend until he died."

"What?"

"He died right in front of me. He fell to his death." Steve shifted his gaze to the floor now.

"I...I don't know what to say." I admitted and he looked at me once more, placing a hand gently on my shoulder.

"Your friendship is enough."

"So is yours." I said, a small smile perking on my lips.

"And if you ever need anything, know that I'm here to talk to you."

"Thanks." I said, wiping a small tear from my eye.

"Hey, what do ya say we go grab something to eat? My treat." He offered . I gladly took that offer and we spent the rest of the night with the gang, enjoying the warm company of friends. It was far better than sitting on that cold, lonely rooftop.

* * *

**So...Hannah's feelings about her parents and her aunt and uncle...what do you think?  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you all for reviewing. Hope you like this little snippet. Have a FANTASTIC FRIDAY! **

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

"Uncle, uncle!" My cries echoed throughout the living room of Avenger's Tower as Thor had me pinned on the floor. The other Avengers and I had been teaching Thor how to play flag football and, obviously, by the sound of my wails, he was winning.

"Do you give up, tiny human?" He asked with a content smirk on his face.

"Thor, really, must you keep her pinned down like that?" Pepper asked as she watched us. Somehow, she approved of this game in the house. Probably because that if anything got broken, Tony could afford to pay it back. However, as of now, the Asgardian was making it really hard to breathe.

"Alright." Thor obliged as he hoisted himself up and lent me a hand.

"You're good at this game." He laughed boisterously at my praise.

"I'm good at many games. Including ones that involve tackling my opponents."

"I can tell." I looked at the others who were so worn from playing against this guy. I even think Bruce was walking with slight limp.

"Another round then?" Thor asked, barely breaking a sweat. A chorus of moans followed suit and he frowned.

"What's the matter? This is the best game we've played here!"

"Buddy," Tony clapped a hand on the man's shoulder, "let's take five, okay?"

"What's 'take five' mean?"

"It means we take a break." I explained to him.

"I think I'll go grab a water then." Thor said, trotting off to the kitchen, the others following him, drenched with sweat.

"He's a tough one." I said as I sat down beside Pepper for a few minutes.

"What can you expect? He's huge." I laughed.

"Agreed."

"You've spent a lot of time with the boys lately." Pepper mentioned in the middle of nowhere, which caught me off guard.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think we ever get a chance to hang out, you know, just us girls." Come to think of it, I had never spend time with Pepper, mostly because she was out of town on business. And Aunt Nat, well, I hadn't spent any alone time with her since we went out shopping.

"Girls day out?" I suggested and she smiled.

"I'd like that. We can get your aunt and just have a girls day."

"That would be great." I said happily. I didn't really hang out with other girls much, especially after Mom had died. And I really wanted that interaction with Pepper and Aunt Nat.

So, the next weekend, we left the boys behind to do whatever they did when we weren't there (hopefully nothing dangerous), and spent the day doing whatever we wanted. We somehow ended up at a small ice cream parlor.

"Okay, so you're telling me you've never been on a date?" Pepper asked and I shook my head. She seemed taken aback by this.

"Why not? You're so pretty."

"Didn't really get around with the other kids much after Mom died." I explained. "Plus, it was a small town. There weren't many cute boys around anyways." My eyes shifted to the window of the parlor and I saw one of the most handsome guys I had every seen. He had beautiful golden blonde hair and some dazzling blue eyes. His tight blue shirt accentuated his muscles and well-built frame.

"But I'd gladly date that." I said and Pepper laughed.

"Really, now? Just a random guy on the street?" Aunt Nat asked skeptically. "Don't start worrying me."

"I wouldn't go date random guys." I assured her. "I don't want to find out he's a creep or anything."

"Good girl." She approved. "So it's agreed, you can't date until you're thirty."

"Hey now..." I said with a smirk.

We lollygagged around for a few hours, going into random shops that I would never dream of going into by myself. One was an old antique shop. Nothing much. It actually looked like it could be bulldozed and it would look a lot better. But that's just me.

"Are you ladies looking for anything?" The grizzled old shopkeeper asked as we entered. He had frizzled grey hair and untrimmed stubble for a beard. He couldn't be any older than...one-hundred, let's just say that. He looked friendly, but in a creepy sort of way.

"No. We're just looking." Pepper said politely.

We all started to drift off to items that interested us. I found an old bow that Uncle Clint might appreciate. It wasn't high tech or anything, but pretty neat. For Aunt Nat, I saw some old throwing knives. I'd have to get a target board and see her aim sometime. My guess was she'd be deadly accurate.

How I ever made it to a dusty, dark corner of the room, I had no clue, but I did. It had some freaky old toys in there, like some demented-looking dolls and, to my disgust, some shrunken heads. I prayed they weren't real.

"Find anything you like?" I nearly screamed as the shopkeeper poked his head out from behind me.

"Umm...no." I said, backing up a little. "Thanks though." I quickly made my way back to Aunt Nat and Pepper. They were obviously as uncomfortable as I was. "Let's get out of here." I whispered. We rushed off without question.

"Now that is one creepy place." I commented as we walked off. But I could still feel his eyes on us...or rather, on me.

The rest of the day went better though. We ended up sitting in one of the Stark Industries cars. Apparently there was a man named Happy that was their main escort. He was really nice, but quiet.

"Hannah, I never did ask you, but how did you tackle that man in the apartment?" Aunt Nat asked curiously.

"I kind of winged it." I admitted, blushing a little. "A little self defense class in high school never hurt anyone either."

"I thought it was quite impressive to hear that you took down a trained assassin." Pepper put in.

"Although I wouldn't promote you rushing in after us again." My aunt advised, but I could see the admiration in her eyes. And she was the one who didn't approve of dangerous stunts. Ha!

"If my family's in danger, I won't leave them." I told her seriously. Although a little worried, the glow of admiration lingered.

"We won't leave you either." She said, a small smile perking on her lips. That's when I knew that my family would never turn their back on me. Never.

**Somewhere in New York...**

They were making this easy. _Too_ easy. Those master assassins Hawkeye and Black Widow were fools to think they were safe living with the Avengers. They had taken out the greatest leaders of the Dark Hand since its formation. And now they were going to pay.

The dim lighting of this room and its cold, blank walls were not formulated to my tastes, but that was no matter. I wouldn't be here for long. And my men were well suited for the tasks I was going to carry out against those two miserable pieces of slime.

"Sir, what are your plans?" One of my men questioned. I grinned evilly. My plans were already in the works. This was going to be big. And victory was going to be sweet.

* * *

**This is not looking good. These Dark Hand guys, I wouldn't want to cross them. What did you all think? Sorry, I know it's short.  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**I would like to thank everyone who reviewed. I couldn't believe when I looked at my story and saw how many had posted their reviews by the time I got off work that night. I loved reading every one of them. Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!  
**

* * *

**Chapter Twelve**

**Clint's P.O.V.**

For once in the past few months, I could finally ease up a bit. My brother's death and niece's sudden appearance had been hard to deal with at first. But since then, things had progressed to a more relaxed state. I couldn't believe how Hannah had warmed up to the team. Not only was she funny (the smart alack remarks with Tony were a big hit), but she revealed more and more that she was smart and a gifted athlete. Yep, the Barton genes had definitely passed on to this one.

The one thing that nagged me increasingly was the threat of another attack from the Dark Hand. The man had been interrogated, but he was tough, and we couldn't break him. But when he saw Nat and I, he just smiled wickedly. I was beginning to think he was possessed. And something inside me feared something worse was coming. Director Fury relentlessly pushed for me to find Hannah another home.

"_She needs to be in a stable environment." The Director reasoned, "She'll be safe in a suitable foster home."_

But I wouldn't listen. I couldn't. Visions of the foster home Barney and I had been placed still terrified me to this day. I realized I couldn't place Hannah there in that nightmarish place. I would never be able to forgive myself afterwards. I had sternly refused his offer, saying that she was safe where she was. Director Fury only shook his head, clearly thinking me a fool. But he didn't know what it was like to lose your only brother and have only one family member left. And I wasn't going to let her go.

As for Nat, she wanted Hannah just as badly as I did. She would kill to keep her, and I meant that in a literal sense. In fact, the last few times Fury had brought up the subject, she had almost stood nose-to-nose with him and refused the offer. Fury had no choice but to back off when it came facing her. Maybe that would deter him from pushing us for a while.

"She's safe with us." Nat said on the way home. Yes, Avenger's Tower had started to become home to us. It felt like we belonged there. And for us, that was saying something. However, I sensed a question more than a statement coming from her sentence.

"Nat, she's with the best of the best." I assured her. "She's safe." I could tell that made her feel better. However, I was still fearful. I was beginning to wonder if the worrying would ever go away.

**A Few Days Later...**

**Hannah's P.O.V.**

"Okay, so what are we doing again?" I asked as I looked down at the busy street below us. The Avengers and I (apart from my aunt and uncle) were at the top of Stark Tower. Tony was in his Iron Man suit, looking positively calm. Bruce, however, seemed mortified.

"Tony, I really don't think..."

"Trust me. This is super safe." Tony assured his friend. Bruce was hardly convinced. "Anyway, Hannah, I need you to try on this jet pack and see if it works."

"You mortals have odd forms of transportation." Thor said, studying hard at the device that was the jet pack. He started shaking it around.

"Thor, don't shake it. You might break it." Tony ordered.

"Couldn't you have chosen a place, you know, closer to the ground?" I gulped as I realized how far I was from the safe, solid ground.

"Stark, I swear if you hurt one hair on her head, I'll kill you right then and there." Steve threatened.

"Relax, Cap. Why do you think I have the suit on?" Indeed, Tony was taking every precaution to ensure my safety if the device should malfunction in mid-air, which meant putting on the Iron Man suit. I prayed he wouldn't need a reason to put it to use. Falling was one of my worst fears.

"Couldn't you have tested this on someone else?"

"Let me explain." The billionaire said. "You're the right size for this. The others are too big and I need it at this height to see if it'll hold up."

"You mean it's going to fail?" I said in disbelief at my deranged friend.

"Not likely." He held up the jet pack. "Try it on? Please?"

"You don't have to do it." Bruce told me. I could tell he was secretly praying I'd refuse.

"What do I get in return?" I asked, folding my arms. I was not about to risk my life for nothing.

"Hmmm...I'll do your share of dish duty for the whole week."

"Phhh...please. I can do that in a wheelchair race." I said and the group laughed at the reminder of our great wheelchair adventure.

"Alright, alright. I'll lend you one of my Iron Man suits for a week." He offered.

"Hannah, think about this..." Steve started, seeing the sparkle in my eye. Now _that_ was a deal. Flying around in an Iron Man suit...for an entire week? I wasn't a fool. I was definitely going to take him up on this.

"Deal." I said excitedly, swiping the jet pack from him and putting it on in an instant.

"You've got to be kidding." Steve said, hand over his eyes.

After Tony and Bruce had securely fastened the straps and made sure I was as safe as humanly possible as once could be when trying out a jet pack prototype, Bruce gave the a-okay.

"Just press the green button when you're ready to start 'er up." Tony instructed.

"I can't watch this." I could only imagine the disaster Steve was envisioning.

"And if you have any problems, we'll be there to catch you." Thor assured me, patting his trusty hammer. Tony was just as assuring.

"I'm ready." I told them. I had long forgotten the fear of the ground, ready for takeoff.

No sooner had I pressed the button when I bolted high into the air. I let out a squeal of fear that quickly turned to delight.

"You alright?" I heard Tony say through the earpiece that he had given to me.

"This is awesome!" I shouted as I flew higher and higher. I decided to take a U-turn.

"Hey!" I heard Tony shout as he pulled up beside me in the air in his suit. "Having fun yet?" As if the look of pure joy on my face wasn't enough to convince him otherwise.

"Duh!" I shouted and he chuckled.

"Well, come on! Race you to that skyscraper!"

"Tony!" Bruce's voice said harshly over the line. "You said no wild stunts while in that jet pack. It's a prototype, remember?!"

"Chill, big man." Tony said calmly. "I'm right here. Nothing bad's going to happen."

The scientist sighed, clearly choosing not to argue with his stubborn colleague.

"Let's race." I said eagerly. "One, two..."

"Three." He gave himself a head start right before three.

"Cheater!" I yelled, putting full speed into the pack. And it actually looked like I was going to catch up to him. We swerved to avoid hitting the skyscraper by mere inches. The jet pack was top-notch. It handled like a dream.

"This is great!" I shouted over to him.

"It's really something, huh?" Tony said as I caught up to him. "And fast too."

"Stark, you get my niece on the roof of this Tower _now_!" I heard the voice of my uncle snap and we both stopped mid-flight.

"Uh oh." Tony and I said simultaneously.

"You bet uh-oh." Uncle Clint scolded. "Now get over here before I ground you for all eternity."

"Alright, alright Legolas. We're coming." Tony said, now completely bummed. We started to head in that direction when the jet pack gave a sudden jolt.

"Ummm...Tony?" I asked as black smoke started to come out of the suit.

"What's going on?" Uncle Clint asked over the earpiece.

"What's wrong, kid?" Tony asked. He was already to the Tower. I had been right behind him until the device started acting up.

"The jet pack...it's acting weird." I said, very confused. That's when I heard it shut down.

"Oh no." I said as I started to fall. "Help!"

"I'm coming." Tony said as I kept falling. I started to scream, but it got caught in my throat as the air hit my face. My hopes of him reaching me were quickly diminishing as the ground got closer and closer.

"Tony!" I managed to yell.

"Hannah, calm down. He's almost there." Uncle Clint said. I wanted to believe him, but the thought of hitting the pavement was becoming more believable as well.

I closed my eyes in fear. I had blacked out my mind, ready to slam onto the cold earth when a pair of metal arms wrapped around me.

"Gotcha." Tony said as he took off in the air again. I opened my eyes to see quite the opposite scene from before when I had been falling as the street became a small line again. When we landed back on the roof, there was Uncle Clint, his eyes seething.

"Stark, if Hannah wasn't here, I would shoot an arrow through your socket right now."

"Uncle Clint..." I started as my uncle advanced toward Tony. I prayed that suit was enough protection for him.

"Look, Clint, I..."

"Don't try to come up with a good excuse." My uncle snapped. "You put my niece in terrible danger."

"Uncle Clint, I chose to do it." I said loudly, trying to get him past his focused rage on Tony. I quickly regretted it as he swerved to look at me.

"Why would you do something so stupid? You knew that it was dangerous!"

"I thought it would be fun." I replied quietly, realizing what a lame excuse that was.

"And is nearly falling to your death what you consider fun?" He raised his voice, making me cringe.

"Clint," Steve said, "it's alright. We were ready for anything..."

"Oh, and you approved of this little escapade?" Clint said to the super-soldier. "Did you all forget that this is my niece? The only other family I have?"

"Friend, don't overreact." Thor advised, but Clint ignored him.

"Hannah's all I have left. And you're willing to let her die to test some stupid machine? You all should be ashamed." By this time, we were all shuffling our feet, afraid to look the master assassin in the eye.

"Hannah, go to your room. You and I will talk later." He commanded. Before I left, I heard him say, "As for you, Stark, you're lucky Nat's not here. She would had murdered you right here and now."

I quickly shut myself in my room, both ashamed for what I had done and terrified for what was to come.

* * *

**I'm pretty sure Nat would have killed Stark. What did you all think?  
**


	13. Chapter 13

**I know I left you all with a small bit of suspense in that last chapter. I probably would have updated sooner, but it has been SO busy. With schoolwork and a lot of extra hours of work, life has been crazy! Trying to get it all done before some family visits on the weekend makes it even crazier! LOL But here's the conclusion of the last chapter. Be sure to tell me what you think! And thank you everyone for being so patient!  
**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Clint's P.O.V.**

It was a good thing I had come home early to stop that dangerous stunt of Hannah and Tony's. I couldn't believe everyone else had been involved and actually let her put on that contraption. She had almost died for crying out loud! I would have thought they all had more sense than that. I had immediately called Nat at work and she was furious. She had sped right over, armed with an attitude and looks that could kill. I had summoned a group meeting, much to everyone's displeasure, with Hannah still in her room. No one would look me in the eye, except for Pepper. She had no clue what was going on.

"I think you all know why I've called you here." I said coldly, arms folded over my chest.

"No. Why?" Pepper asked curiously.

"Your boyfriend over there," I pointed at Stark accusingly, "decided to let Hannah fly in a jet pack hundreds of feet in the air." She gasped and turned towards Tony, eyes narrowed into slits.

"What were you thinking?!" She nearly screamed. Tony cringed.

"I just wanted to test it." He murmured. He sunk lower in his seat as Pepper continued to stare him down.

"And Hannah almost died." Nat finished harshly.

"We took every precaution." Tony objected. "All three of us," (He gestured to himself, Bruce, and Thor), "were ready to come in and save her."

"And you almost didn't make it." I let the reality of the situation sink in. The group remained quiet for a moment.

"Friends," Thor started, "what is it that bothers you so?"

"What?" Nat asked in confusion.

"You two aren't usually this on edge." Cap explained for his friend.

"Like I said, this is family that we're talking about here." I replied.

"But you totally overreacted. That's not like you." Tony pointed out. "You knew I would catch her. So what's really wrong?" I sighed and looked to Nat. She knew to take it from there.

"We're afraid." She admitted, which must have brought quite a shock to our friends. Us, afraid? Not a very common feeling for two assassins. "The Dark Hand,"

"Those terrible fiends that tried to murder you?" Thor exclaimed, placing his hand on Mjolnir. "Have you found them?" I shook my head sadly.

"We're afraid that their next target will be here. And that Hannah will be caught in the middle."

"But she's with us, remember?" Tony reminded us.

"But she's not completely out of danger." I reminded them. "If they can sneak into the apartment of two master assassins, they can get in here."

"But we're always here." Steve mentioned.

"But what happens if we're not by some chance? What if she's alone? She'd be a prime target." And that's what she'd be. Young, defenseless and a beloved family member of two Avengers who just happened to take out important leaders of a terrorist organization. Hannah, unfortunately, was the the perfect option to exact revenge on Nat and I.

"We can be here more often." Pepper said. "I can move business here."

"We can escort her anywhere she wants." Bruce piped up.

"But there's something else, isn't there?" Steve, being ever so observant, asked. I hadn't told them about Director Fury's constant badgering.

"Director Fury thinks she'd be safer in foster care." I told them. The room was instantly filled with outrage.

"What?!" Tony said, suddenly lurching up from the couch in anger. "No way!"

"What is foster care?" Thor asked curiously, although from the looks and reactions of everyone else around the room, he was quickly understanding that foster care was a bad thing.

"It's not good." I answered him. "She'd be alone in some stranger's house without her family, and Nat and I are not about to let that happen."

"Neither are we." Bruce was filled with rage at the idea. It was surprising, considering he was usually so calm and quiet. He, as well as the others, had grown attached to Hannah in the short time we'd all been together. More close than I would have ever imagined. And now, as I looked at them seethe in fury over the possibility of sending Hannah away, I'd hate to be the sorry soul that tried to drive them apart.

"We are NOT going to let that happen." Pepper said fiercely, a fiery determination in her eyes.

"Then we have to keep a close eye on her. No less than one Avenger with or near her at all times." Nat announced sternly.

"Absolutely." Steve agreed. "We'll keep her safe. We promise."

"We'll try to keep our schedules to where we can be home more often. But for the most part while we're gone, we're expecting you to watch her." Nat said.

There was genuine agreement among the group. I could see how they really cared for Hannah and her safety. And for once, I felt completely safe leaving her in their hands.

"And no more dangerous stunts!" I could have sworn I heard Stark grumble, but it was cut off with a glare from Pepper. Problem solved.

* * *

**Hannah's P.O.V.**

It had been about an hour since the incident. I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to get out of here when someone knocked on the door. I was surprised when both my aunt and uncle came through the door. Uncle Clint must have thought what we did was pretty bad to call Aunt Nat in.

"I'm sorry." I said softly. "I didn't mean for the jet pack to break down."

"We know you didn't." Aunt Nat said, both her and Uncle Clint sitting on the bed beside me. She put her arm around me and held me close. It was sort of strange for her to show this form of affection, but somehow, I found it comforting, like it was Mom wrapping her arms around me again. "But you have to stop with the dangerous stunts."

"It was only this one time." She gave me this look that said 'yeah right.' She clearly hadn't forgotten the wheelchair event.

"Hannah," Uncle Clint said, "those times with Tony and the others are fun, but they're not safe for you."

"But they all get to do it. Why can't I?"

"Hannah, they're grownups and if they get hurt, it's on their own heads. But if you get hurt, it's an entirely different story." He explained.

"We don't want you to get hurt." My aunt said. "We love you too much for that."

Love. A word I hadn't heard in a long time. Dad always said "I love you" before dropping me off at school ever morning. And now I had an aunt and uncle that loved me. And maybe, just maybe, I could understand why they were so touchy about my safety.

"Alright." I agreed. "No more wild stunts." I could hear them both breathe a sigh of relief.

"But there is one subject that we need to address." I mentioned. "Tony did say that if I tried on the jet pack, I could use one of his Iron Man suits for a week and..."

"Absolutely not." Aunt Nat quickly.

"What?! But I risked my life for that suit!" At that moment, they both got up and started to make an exit out of the room.

"Hmmm...maybe you should have thought about that before you put on that jet pack." Uncle Clint said, poking his head out the almost-closed door, a small smirk on his face. "And by the way, you're grounded for a week." With that, he shut the door behind him before I had a chance to protest. I folded my arms across my chest in frustration.

"It was worth a shot."

* * *

**Well, at least the whole team is on the same page now. Do you think they can keep Hannah safe? Hope you all liked this chapter. Be sure to review! I won't be updating this weekend because I have family coming over, so I hope this can hold you over for a bit. Have a great weekend!  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**So what do you guys think about Hannah getting to visit S.H.I.E.L.D. New York HQ? You'll find out soon enough!  
**

**One Direction. "What Makes You Beautiful." _AZLyrics. _MUSIXMATCH, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.**

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**Chapter Fourteen**

I woke up, but I groaned as I wanted to do just the opposite. It had been a long night of playing cards with the Avengers and we hadn't gone to bed until three in the morning. Surprisingly, Uncle Clint and Aunt Nat had stayed up on a work night. I bet they called in sick today. The clock beside me read 4:30 and I groaned. Really?!

I kept trying to go back to sleep, but it was a futile effort. I decided to pick up my guitar and play a few tunes. Deciding that I wanted to play in the living room (I figured no one would hear there), I sat on the couch in my pajamas, cross-legged, and started playing. The first song to pop into my head (and at 4:30 in the morning of all times) was "_What Makes You Beautiful"_ by One Direction.

_Baby you light up my world like nobody else,_  
_ The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,_  
_ But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell,_  
_ You don't know,_  
_ Oh, oh,_  
_ You don't know you're beautiful (One Direction).  
_

I wasn't about to burst into full out concert mode, but I kept the notes light and slow. It continued on until about five, but I still wasn't sleepy.

"I didn't know you played." Bruce yawned as he came in, looking just as bleary as I was. He was dressed in a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt that said "Gamma Nerds Rock." I tried hard not to giggle.

"Did I wake you up?"He shook his head.

"I don't know what's keeping me up. I think I had one too many Twinkies last night." Yeah, we had kind of built up and devoured a stockpile of Twinkies. That and poker were a great combination. Who knew?

"I don't think I'll touch one ever again." I said, letting out a small burp. It tasted of Twinkies. YUCK! He chuckled.

"They stay inside you for seven years, you know." I rolled my eyes.

"And I thought you were a doctor."

"I am. However, I never did completely specialize in the medical field." He then switched subjects. "So, who taught you to play?"

"My dad." I said, running my hand over the guitar. "He knew everything about guitars."

"Would you play it again?" He asked. "I think it might put me to sleep."

"Any requests, Doctor?" I asked.

"_Your Kiss is on My List_." He said and I raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Oldies music?" His expression flattened.

"I'm not old." He defended. "And I love that song."

"I've got to get you associated with real music."

"Like what? "_Call Me Maybe_?" Forget it." He said and I laughed.

"Alright, alright. I'll play it for you." I started strumming the notes, remembering that it was one of Dad's favorites as well. I remember him playing it for Mom once when I was little.

However, as we got to the middle of the song, another person stumbled into the room. Bruce was already half-asleep, but Steve's voice woke him up.

"You play?" He asked, walking in a pair of sweatpants and white tee, the tight shirt accentuating his muscles.

"Since I was young." I responded as he sat beside me.

"And she was just about to put me to sleep." Bruce said in frustration as he closed his eyes to return to sleep mode, but to no avail as more friends entered.

"Can anyone else around here not sleep?" Tony asked, in both a tank and some sweatpants, rubbing his eyes furiously.

"I think it's the Twinkies." I proposed. Come to think of it, he had had five or six.

"How many did you have?" He asked us.

"Four." Bruce said.

"Five." I answered.

"Ten." Steve responded and we all stared at him in disbelief.

"Geez, Cap, you can lighten up on the sweets." Tony said, taking a seat in a big chair. "And who was playing the music?" I raised my hand.

"Would you keep playing? It makes me sleepy." He said, throwing his head back. The thought of playing loudly next to his ear entered my train of thought, but I thought better of it for this hour of the morning.

"Friends," Thor's voice said, clearly in some sort of pain. We looked over and saw him leaning against the wall, hand on his stomach.

"How many?" I asked.

"Of those Twinkies, she means." Bruce clarified.

"Twelve." He groaned, shaking the couch a bit as he sat down. "Did they keep you up as well?" Our moans confirmed an answer.

"Hannah was just about to play us some music so we could go to sleep." Steve said as he turned his attention to me. "Would you please?"

I nodded and started to play. It didn't take long before I saw Thor start to drift off. Then Bruce, then Steve, then Tony. And I, slowly, started to drift off. Before I knew it, I was out like the light.

**A Few Hours Later...**

"Awww, aren't they cute?" The sound of my aunt's voice startled me and my eyes shot open. I found that my head was lying on Steve's shoulder and Steve was drooling onto the couch.

"Wh-what?!" I heard Bruce shout in surprise. He bounced off the couch and nearly toppled onto the floor before catching himself. There was my aunt and uncle with huge smiles on their faces. Aunt Nat was holding a camera.

"No." I said in horror as I saw the camera. "You didn't."

"Oh, yes." Aunt Nat replied with a wicked grin. "We did."

"That's mean." I said as Steve started to rub his eyes.

"What's mean?" He asked groggily.

"We saw you all on the couch asleep and decided it would just be adorable to share it at work." Uncle Clint responded.

_Demons._

"What time is it?" Tony asked, his watch long forgotten somewhere.

"8:30." One of the agents replied.

"Whoops!" He said, jumping up from the chair. "I'm already thirty minutes late for a meeting."

"How is that any different from your usual tardiness?" Aunt Nat asked sarcastically.

"It just so happens that I have an important Skype meeting for my company, thank you very much. And it just so happens that Pepper needs me there."

"To what? Pass love notes?" Bruce teased and I giggled.

"Well, yes, that, and...I don't know, just my presence I guess." He said before steering off to his room.

"I bet he'll be staring at her the whole meeting." Bruce commented before getting up and trudging off towards his room to get around. Steve and I started to follow suit, before something triggered in my mind.

"Wait." I said to the group. "What about Thor?" We all looked to see the huge Asgardian hogging about half the couch. He was still passed out. He had to be a heavy sleeper.

"Let him sleep. I wouldn't dare try to wake him up, lest he mistake us for intruders and take us out with that magical hammer of his." Steve wisely advised.

"Agreed." Before I could leave, my aunt spoke.

"Hannah," my aunt said, "did you make any plans with the team for today?"

"Nope."

"We were thinking..." My uncle started, a small smirk on his face, "since you know all that we do, we were kind of wondering if you wanted to see where we work."

My eyes grew wide, not with surprise, but excitement.

"Really?" I could see them bothsmirk.

"New York headquarters. What do you think?" As if they didn't already know my answer.

"That would be awesome!"

In a half hour, I was ready. In the car, I kept imagining what it would be like. Was it hidden in some secret underground area? In a seemingly-old abandoned building? Did all the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents dress like those who had come into the apartment or like normal people to hide their organization. The possibilities were endless!

I was somewhat disappointed when we pulled up to a regular building in Times Square. And the agents? They were all in suits. Can you say boring? We walked in and the first thing that happened was that a huge guy dressed in black (okay, maybe one guy was in black) put his large hand on my shoulder.

"And who are you?" His deep voice immediately scared me. I could easily see why no one could sneak in here unnoticed.

"Chill, Randy." The man, Randy, I presumed, looked at my uncle. "That's my niece."

"The one that took out the guy in your apartment?" My uncle nodded. Randy smiled at me and raised a hand in the air. I presumed it meant he wanted a high five. I awkwardly gave him one.

"Way to go, kid. Everyone here's been talking about it."

"I'm guessing you don't get too many teenagers taking out assassins?" He laughed.

"She even talks like you." He turned to my uncle. "They were right. You are a Barton."

"That's right." My uncle clapped his hand on my shoulder. "Now if you'll excuse us, we thought we'd give her a grand tour of the place."

"Go right in."

There was a flurry of suits bustling in and out the halls. They walked in and out of doors, some carrying brief cases, some cell phones, some, to my surprise, had guns strapped to their sides. My aunt and uncle took a sudden turn to a dark wooden door, and I was met with a narrow, deserted hallway.

"Not exactly the Taj Mahal." My aunt smirked.

"We don't exactly want a secret government agency building that screams 'Come in!' now do we?"

"Agreed." We continued down the long stretch of hallway. I couldn't help but feel like the hallway was sloping downward. After a long walk, we were stopped by a metal door and a silent, but dangerous-looking guard. The muscles under his black uniform were huge. He didn't look at us as my uncle swiped his identification card and we headed through the door. The next hallway was shorter and the hallway was definitely sloped downwards. I didn't know how far we were underground, but it had to be pretty deep for no one to know that there was a hallway down here.

"You okay back there?" Uncle Clint asked. We had all been quiet for so long, he probably figured I had gotten lost or something.

"Yep. Still here." He chuckled.

"Don't worry. We're almost there."

"Almost where?"

"You'll see."

Sure enough, we met another huge door. This door had no guards, just an I.D. scanner. He swiped it, and behind the door there was a massive room. The walls were of dark grey metal, the floors matching the ceiling. This room was filled with people, all dressed in blue one-piece uniforms with the S.H.I.E.L.D. eagle on the shoulder. They were busy as they scanned their computer screens or looked through hundreds of files. It was impressive, watching them as they worked. I imagined they were all looking for clues, evil terrorists, anything that threatened the security of the world. It gave the room a sense of importance and noble purpose.

"What is this place?" I asked curiously.

"This is the main room of our investigative department." My uncle answered. "They're the ones who do the face trace and all that."

"Like the F.B.I. and C.I.A., right?"

"Kind of."

"Agents Barton." A lady appeared out of nowhere. She was wearing a black suit, unlike the others. Her hair was brown and pulled into a ponytail. She was very tall and she looked authoritative, but a friendly face all the same.

"Agent Hill." Both my aunt and uncle replied. She looked at me.

"I didn't know we were expecting visitors."

"Just showing the kid around." I was going to protest to being called kid, but I didn't get a chance.

"You know Fury wouldn't like to see her in here." Agent Hill replied. "He's already on edge about you not sending her to..." My aunt cut her short.

"Actually, Agent Hill, we were just wanting to show her the archives." There was a look she gave my aunt; confusion, maybe? But she quickly replaced it with steady smile.

"Of course. Go on ahead." She pointed to a door far off to our left and we headed off in that direction.

"Archives?" I questioned.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. keeps a ton of them." My uncle replied. And indeed, they did. From WWII to present day, anything and everything that could be related to S.H.I.E.L.D. was there. I laughed as I saw a Captain America headline framed on a wall with Steve in his uniform storming some far-off place.

"This is impressive." I said as I glanced around at the hundreds of prints in the one room we were in.

"That's nothing." My uncle commented as he led me over to another room. This one was filled with old weaponry and gadgets. I was quickly attracted to a bow and arrow that had been broken in half and was laying in a case, untouched probably since its old owner had broken it. There was a small name plate that read "Hawkeye."

"Did you break this?" He nodded.

"It was my first S.H.I.E.L.D. bow." He smiled at the object that had so much sentimental value. "I broke it over an enemy's head." He was dead serious.

"Wow." I realized it had to take a lot of force to do that to a bow like that. It could probably even kill aperson. My eyes shifted to some other articles, particularly some old S.H.I.E.L.D. uniforms.

"You've got to be kidding." I said as I looked at the ugly uniforms. The old short skirts for agents from the seventies stuck out like a sore thumb.

"No, they're not." My aunt said as she looked in disdain at the garment. "I feel sorry for the poor woman that had to wear that."

"No kidding." I glanced at an old photo beside the uniforms. There were some men in a training room in shorty-short shorts.

"Oh please, tell me you never had to wear those."

"No." My uncle responded quickly. "But I think Coulson did, didn't he, Nat?"

"Who's Coulson?" I asked.

"Our old handler. He's...moved to a different department." My aunt informed me.

That's when Uncle Clint's phone rang.

"Barton." He replied. I heard a few words on the other end before he replied. "Alright. We'll be out in no time." More talking followed. "Wait, what?! What person...ah, geez, never mind. I'll take care of it. Thanks, Hill." He hung up and looked at Nat and I.

"Fury's on his way. Some agent told him we were in here."

"He doesn't know about..?" She looked at me.

"Don't think so. But I really don't want to give him a chance to..."

"Chance to what?"

"Nothing. Just...nothing." He looked around for something.

"Hannah, I need you to hide here." He directed me to an old closet filled with cleaning supplies. "Stay here and be quiet until we get Fury to leave."

Not really wanting to mess with the man in the eye patch again, I did as I was told. Sure enough, the moment my uncle closed me in, I heard voices.

"Agents Barton." A loud voice echoed through the room.

"Director." My uncle responded.

"I presume you've given more thought to my offer?" Offer? What offer?

"No more than yesterday, I'm afraid." He replied, although there was not a tone of sadness in his voice.

"Don't be a smart alack with me." The Director snapped. "You know I'm only thinking of you and your family."

"With all do respect, sir, it's our decision with what happens." Director Fury sighed.

"The man still isn't talking, is he?" Aunt Nat asked. She was referring to the guy from the apartment.

"Not a word."

"I really believe we're safer where we are." She said.

"I can't guarantee anything, which is why I'm suggesting that you..."

"Director, please. We've been through a lot in the past few months." Aunt Nat cut him off. I could hear an edge in her voice, one that said to drop the subject. Why was she being so defensive?

Another sigh followed.

"When he starts to talk, I'll let you know. Until then, continue on to your duties as usual."

"Yes, sir." My uncle replied. There was an echo of footsteps from the room and then, silence. For a moment, I thought perhaps they had left me. But in a minute, they opened the door.

"Sorry about that. Had to be sure he was gone." My uncle assured me.

"What was that about?"

"I'll tell you when we get to the car." He replied. We took off back to the main floor of the building, barely getting a chance to say goodbye to Agent Hill, and getting back in the car.

"He's wanting us to move out of Avenger's Tower." Aunt Nat explained. "He doesn't think it's safe for us there."

"That's crazy!" I exclaimed in indignation. "That's the safest place there is." My uncle huffed.

"That's what we've been telling him."

"And he still hasn't stopped badgering." Aunt Nat told me.

"Don't worry. We're not moving anywhere." My uncle replied. And I knew we wouldn't. We couldn't leave our friends behind. They were like family. And you never left family.

* * *

**Clint's P.O.V.**

Nat and I had just dodged a bullet. Actually, several bullets. Hill almost blew our secret of Fury wanting to send her to a foster home to Hannah. And if Fury had seen her, I was afraid he'd bring up the subject as well. Even though we knew we weren't going to send her there, just giving Hannah the slightest inkling that that could happen made me on edge. What if she believed that we would? She could run away again. Or we could have lost her trust for good. No, it was better that she didn't know. We had worked hard too hard to gain her trust, only to have it broken by Fury.

"I think she liked it here." Nat said as we drank some coffee in the break room the next morning.

"I didn't realize what such a risk it was to bring her here, though." I replied.

"I thought Fury was off in Washington for some business meeting. He got back earlier than I anticipated." She took another sip of coffee. "We did cut it really close, though."

"I'm glad Hill warned us before he came in."

"I just didn't want her to know...about the foster care idea." She had the same fears as I. So she had lied to protect Hannah from the truth. Hopefully, this situation with the Dark Hand would blow over and we'd never have to tell Hannah.

* * *

**Hmmm...do you think Hannah is going to find out? Please review! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Enjoy! Hope I didn't make you all wait too long! Oh, and please review! I love reading them so much. It always makes me so excited to see that someone has commented on my work. So please, please, PLEASE send a few words my way! Thank you! And thanks to all those who have been reviewing thus far!  
**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

The screen glared back at me with a blaring light as I watched the most boring television show on the planet. What was this show, you may ask? Give you a hint; it was called: Rotation of the Earth. I had literally been sitting on the couch for three hours watching the Earth rotate. BORING. The sound of my uncle's voice triggered me out of my state of motionlessness.

"What are you watching, kid?" I could see his eyes move to the screen. There was silence as I drew my attention back to the TV as well. No matter how boring, the show had sucked him into its vortex of doom as well. He sat on the couch beside me and stared.

"Hey guys, what's up?" My uncle and I looked at Tony and motioned to the Earth. One by one, each Avenger started to show up. Before I knew it, we were all sitting on the couch and watching the planet.

"Why are we watching this?" I heard Bruce's emotionless voice say. It had sucked the life out of us, almost quite literally.

"Don't...know." I said dully.

"This planet is so slow." Thor commented.

"What are you all doing?" All heads turned to see Aunt Nat looking from us to the screen. It had no affect on her whatsoever. I would wager that she had some sort of force field surrounding her that protected her from mind-numbing television. Or she just hated TV. Take your pick.

"Earth...rotating... So boring. Can't...resist." We all turned back to the screen and became zombies yet again. That is, until the screen went black.

"Hey!" We all shouted in unison as we looked at my aunt holding the remote control.

"I think you all need to get outside." She suggested sternly. More like an order, if you ask me.

"Why?" Uncle Clint asked.

"You just spend God-knows-how-long in front of that television screen looking at the Earth rotate. You all need to get out and get a life."

"I have a life!" Tony protested.

"Then what are you doing here?" My aunt folded her arms and looked at him with expectation.

"Well, I...ummm...I have the day off."

"And you're spending it watching this?" Good point. "You could be out flying one your suits or something."

"And the last time I saw you actually work was weeks ago." Before Tony could protest, Bruce spoke again. "And I don't consider playing with chemicals and almost blowing up the lab work."

Tony folded his arms and sank back into the couch, pouting.

"And you." Aunt Nat looked at me.

"What?"

"I haven't seen you out of here in days."

"I've been working out." In fact, Steve and I had been doing laps down in the gym before I got sucked into the television.

"Inside." She protested.

"Oh, come on. It's not like she's some couch potato." Uncle Clint stood up for me.

"You haven't been out much either besides work."

"Well, look who's talking." He responded. She was quiet for a moment, thinking on the topic. It was true. She had been just as stuck inside these walls as he was. She whipped out her phone and started texting someone. There was a quick response back.

"Good news. We're all going out today."

"I don't have to do that." Tony immediately protested.

"Yes, you do." Pepper's voice rang loud and clear through the living room. He cringed. He was beat.

"Nat, I really..." My aunt cut her husband off.

"Yes, you will." He quickly shut up any remarks he had.

"And where, almighty master assassin, are we going?" The sarcasm in Tony's tone was anything but subtle.

"I," Pepper spoke this time, "was thinking we could go to the beach."

"The beach? Come on! It's crowded with people." Bruce said. "People are bound to come running up to get our autographs or something."

"Exactly." Uncle Clint agreed. Aunt Nat flashed him a look and he shut up again.

"Not if I can rent out part of it." Pepper said, taking out her phone.

"You can't just..." Pepper cut her boyfriend off with the start of a new conversation on the phone. Within a minute, she was finished.

"Done."

"I'm guessing that was my credit card?"

"Of course." She responded and Tony groaned.

We had all scrambled into two cars and made it there in thirty minutes. I had to admit when I got there to that secluded part of the beach, it was quite lovely.

"Race you to the water!" Someone shouted and off went the boys. However, I stayed behind with Pepper and Aunt Nat. My aunt had on a red bathing suit that complemented her red hair quite nicely and Pepper was wearing a pretty turquoise one piece that showed off her curves. I had decided to just wear some jean shorts and tank. I wasn't one for swimming. The last time I had gone out in the water, Dad had dunked me so many times that I swear I had water in my ears for a week.

"Not going out with the boys?" Pepper asked as she laid out on a towel with Aunt Nat beside her. "I figured you'd join them for a bit."

"I haven't had the greatest experiences with water." I answered as I watched the boys repeatedly dunk each other. Yeah, I was not missing that one bit.

"Stark, stop dunking me or I promise you I'll go Hulk on you!" Bruce shouted as he shook his wet hair from another shove into the salty water.

"Come on, big man. Loosen up!" Tony splashed some water in the man's face. He looked furious now.

"Don't worry, green one. I've got this." Thor took Tony and shoved him under. Tony came up choking out water and Bruce was laughing hysterically.

"Hannah, come help me dunk your uncle!" Steve yelled.

"No thanks! I'm good!" I shouted from the comfort of my beach towel.

"Is someone afraid of the water?" My uncle teased.

"Shut up!" I retorted.

"They're ridiculous." Pepper commented as she pulled out a magazine and started reading.

"No kidding." Aunt Nat agreed as she laid out in the sun. I repeated the same motion and closed my eyes. For a moment, the world was peaceful. The wind was blowing gently and the smell of seawater and sand wafted into my nose. I must have been really relaxed because when I woke up, I was met with a mountain of sand. And I was _under_ it. I could hear the sound of giggles and chuckling behind me.

"Hey!" I shouted as I tried to wiggle my way out of the sand, but to no avail.

"Sorry, young Hannah. But we couldn't resist." Thor's voice answered with a mighty laugh. I pushed my head backwards and could see all of them, even my aunt and Pepper, now laughing very loudly.

"You're all mean."

"Maybe..." My uncle said mischievously. "But only because you made it _so_ easy." A little bit of the sand slid down and hit me in the mouth.

"Jerks." I said in-between coughs of sand.

"Come on, get her out of the sand." Pepper told them when she knew I'd had enough. When they did, I threw a wad of it at them.

"Hey!" One of them shouted.

"Try being buried in it." I muttered.

"If you'd go in the water, that'd get the sand right off." Tony said suggestively. There was no way I was getting the water with him. He'd dunk me so many times that I'd be filled head to foot with water.

"No thanks." I quickly refused.

"Come to think of it, none of you girls have been in the water." My uncle said. He flashed an unreadable glance from us to the boys. "All nice and dry, I should say."

"Too dry, actually." Bruce commented.

Aunt Nat saw where this was going and quickly took off, leaving Pepper and I on our own.

"Every woman for herself!" I yelled and took off on my aunt's heels.

"Tony, no!" Pepper screeched. I didn't look back, knowing that Tony was carrying her to her watery doom. I saw a figure dash past me and right on the tail of Aunt Nat: Uncle Clint. Boy, was she in for it. She may be good at taking out bad guys, but outrunning her husband? Not so much.

I suddenly felt a pair of strong arms catch me.

"Steve!" I yelled as I tried to squirm out of his grip. He had this devilish smirk, very uncommon for the goody-two-shoes super soldier, as he made his way over to the water.

"Lady Hannah, don't worry. This is going to be fun!" Thor's assurance did not bring me much relief as I saw Pepper trying to couch out some of the seawater whilst Tony laughed hysterically.

"I got you. I got you!" He jeered childishly.

"Shut up." Pepper snapped.

"Here you are." Steve said, dumping me unceremoniously into the water. The water filled my nostrils as I went underwater. I quickly emerged and proceeded to cough it back out.

"Have you gotten over your fear of the water yet?" Bruce asked and I glared at him.

"No." I shoved him over and he fell back in the water. I didn't get to see him emerge as I heard my aunt scream.

"Clint, you put me down now!" I don't know how he had done it, but he had her slung over his shoulders and he wasn't letting go.

"Relax, Nat. It's just a little fun."

"This is what you call fun?"

He threw her in the water and responded, "Yep."

However, his plan backfired. In the next five seconds, his feet were pulled out from under him.

"Hey!" That was his last word before being jerked underwater. Aunt Nat emerged satisfied.

"And that's what I call fun." He came back up and gave her a glare.

"You asked for it." Those were the words out of her mouth before he even had a chance to make some snide remark.

The next hour or so was one of lots of dunking. I even got Thor! Okay, maybe that one was a group effort, but we still got him! However, I couldn't help but feel like someone was watching us. Every time I looked around, however, there was no one.

* * *

**Somewhere in New York...**

That old man from the antique shop was more useful that I thought. He had provided far more information than I had thought possible. And now, my plans were complete. I had even scrapped my previous ideas because this one was so perfect. Elaborate even. It would add greatly to the pain and suffering I wanted those S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to feel.

"Sir, Mr. Erickson has returned." Oh good. The old man had returned for his payment. He came in, walking slowly because of his age.

"I assume you've come for your wages?" I asked and he nodded. "Of course." In a second, I pulled out my gun and shot him. He was dead before he hit the floor.

"Dispose of him." I ordered. As he was pulled away, I could only imagine how my dreams were quickly becoming a reality. Revenge. It was all I wanted. And I was going to get it, no matter what it cost.

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**This does not sound good at all! Reviews are much appreciated!**


	16. Chapter 16

**I decided I really wanted to post the next chapter now. Surprise! And I have to warn you, this**** is where the drama of the story begins. Are you ready?  
**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

So what happens when you have a scientist, a super-soldier and seventeen year-old who are bored out of their brains alone at Stark Tower? Chemical pong, that's what! I munched on some cheese puffs as Steve shot another ball into the chemical substance. It plopped it with a _hiss_ and started to turn from blue to green to red before melting into the concoction.

"Nice shot." Bruce said as he took his turn. However, he missed his target by a mile.

"Drats." He muttered.

"Cheese puff?" I offered to compensate for his loss. He took it and munched on it while I took my turn. I aimed and, with my luck, I missed.

"You're not very good at this, are you?" Steve asked us. The score was humiliating. Steve had sunk every shot and Bruce and I could round up our totals to one, but only because Bruce got lucky.

"Gee, what made you come to that conclusion?" I pouted. He could only laugh.

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad, you know." He took another ball and sunk it in the chemicals. Bruce and I both sighed.

"Show off." Bruce whispered and I stifled a giggle.

"Indeed." I agreed.

"So what's the score now?" I think Cap was enjoying this, knowing his score versus ours.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Bruce asked sarcastically.

"I'll make you a deal. If you make the next shot, you both win." He threw the small white ball to Bruce and he fumbled with it before it bounced on the floor. That's when I knew we were done for.

Bruce stepped up to the line we had drawn. He pushed up his glasses, focusing intently on his target. After a moment of silence, he shot the ball. I almost looked away, afraid to watch. But the sound of a _pop_ turned my attention to the beaker, where the ball was turning a dark shade of purple.

"Good job." I said with a laugh.

"Agreed. Good job, Dr. Banner." Steve congratulated him.

"Have a cheese puff." I rewarded him. That's when a beeper went off.

"Just in time. My other experiment is ready to begin." Dr. Banner wandered over to another portion of the lab, leaving Steve and I to ourselves.

"So, do you have any other plans for the day?" I asked as we walked to the elevator, leaving the doctor to his studies.

"Well, actually, come to think of it, I need to go get some shampoo and stuff."

"Can I come with you? I need to pick up some things myself." Besides, I really wanted out of the Tower. It had been a week since our beach adventure and I hadn't been out since.

"Absolutely. Would your aunt and uncle mind if we took my motorcycle, though?"

Come to think of it, it might be best not to see what happened if they found me straddling someone on the back of a motorcycle, even if I was with Steve. After the whole 'no more dangerous stunts' episode, they might be more prone to overreact. So I texted them and they said yes. With that, we got on the bike and headed off towards the super center.

"I'll meet you in a few minutes." I told him as he went over to the personal care products. I was really craving some fruit and the Tower had been out for several days. I decided to pick out some apples and a huge pineapple. Those were always delicious. My eyes moved up for a moment, only to look across the fruit section about fifty feet away from me. There was a man standing there in dark pants and jacket. His ensemble looked eerily like...I gulped. One of the Dark Hand guys! He was pretending to be interested in a piece of grapefruit, but I couldn't miss those small glances in my direction.

But wait? It could just be some guy, right? I couldn't just say he was from the Dark Hand and then come to find out he was just some civilian. No, I needed to remain calm and think my way through this. Next, I needed to make sure my assumptions were true. I placed the fruit in my grocery basket and started to walk off in Steve's direction, keeping the man in my peripheral vision. For a moment, I started to believe he was just an ordinary guy, but when he started to follow me at a distance, I started to get scared. I looked down a few of the aisles and found Steve on the fourth one.

I half-walked, half-ran over to him. He quickly saw something wasn't right.

"Hannah? What's wrong?"

"There's a man dressed in the exact same outfit as the man who tried to kill my aunt and uncle." I whispered to him. His face grew serious.

"Where is he?"

"He's out there somewhere. He started to follow me here."

"Hide over there." He ordered, gesturing towards an end cap. "Call Clint and tell him to get over here."

I did so without question. But before I could dial a number, I heard some shots fired, followed by screams and the footfalls of dozens of customers.

"No." I said, terrified for Steve. Without thinking, I ran to the edge of the aisle and peeked my head out from around the corner. There was the man in black, not very far from my aisle, looking for something...or rather, someone. I couldn't see Steve. The man had a gun in his hand. In terror, I quickly ran to the end of the end cap and hid, trying to dial the number with my jittery fingers.

"Hello?" Uncle Clint's voice sounded at other end of the line. Thank God.

"Uncle Clint," I whispered. "There's a gunman in the super center where we're at. He's from the Dark Hand."

"Stay hidden." He ordered sternly. "If you hear him, run."

He hung up and I was left alone.

"Please don't let him find me." I whispered to no one. I kept as quiet as I could, listening for any footsteps, any sign that the man was coming in my direction. But there was nothing. The seconds ticked on like hours as the reality of time was lost somewhere in the corners of my mind. My guess that everyone in the store had long ran off, safely out of the building. And Steve? I just prayed he hadn't been shot...or killed.

My nerves were more on edge now, the adrenaline coursing through my body. Every instinct was telling me to run, but I knew I had to stay here. He could be close, closer than I thought he was. My thoughts were interrupted by a hand clamping over my mouth. I was filled with terror until I saw Steve.

"Where is he?" I whispered.

"He passed by here five minutes ago. He's near the grocery section. Now let's get out of here. S.H.I.E.L.D. will be here any moment."

"Oh, I don't think they'll be here any time soon." A loud, masculine voice erupted. We looked ahead of us to see the man dressed in black, his eyes cold and his expression just as evil as the other guy from the apartment.

"Hannah, get behind me." Steve pushed me behind him, leaving himself exposed to this madman, who only smirked.

"Now, now, Captain, just give me the girl and you can be on your way."

"You're not taking her anywhere." Steve growled.

"Captain, we both know you're unarmed. You're no match for me."

"Come over here and I'll show you just have defenseless I am." He spat.

"I was hoping we could do this without violence." The man lied. "I'll give you one last chance. Give her to me and your team will be none the wiser."

"Get out or I'll kill you right here and now."

"Not so cooperative today, are we?" The man said, giving a _tsk_ _tsk_ sound. "Well, I suppose I'll have to teach you a lesson in submission." He raised his gun and a shot rang out. I nearly screamed, but it was caught in my throat. I looked, afraid that I would see Steve shot. But there was the man in black, lying on the ground, a pool of blood starting to seep from his head.

"Steve? Are you alright?" I asked, very confused now. His expression matched mine as he looked from the dead man to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said, astonished as he looked around the aisle near the now-dead man. Uncle Clint was standing there, gun in hand. Aunt Nat was quickly running up behind him.

"Hannah, are you alright?" Aunt Nat asked, wrapping her arms around me tightly like a child.

"I'm okay." I assured her, my voice shaking. I looked to Uncle Clint. "You shot him?" He nodded.

"Come on. We're getting you home." He left no room for questions he placed his hand over me, half leading, half shoving me out the doors. We all got into a black car with the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem on the side and headed in the direction of home. I was guessing Cap's bike would be delivered later.

But as Uncle Clint drove home, Aunt Nat in the passenger seat beside him, I saw them exchange several glances towards each other. And Steve? His facial expression was blank, but his eyes revealed everything. And that's when I knew something was horribly, terribly wrong.

* * *

**Clint's P.O.V.**

I sent Hannah to her room as soon as we got back to the Tower. I had sent out a message to the rest of the team, and they were all in the living room waiting for us to arrive. There was a surprise guest to our meeting, however. Director Fury was standing there, his presence as commanding as ever. He watched us as we came in, his face grim.

"It was a member of the Dark Hand." The Director confirmed. "And the one at our facility isn't talking."

"This was a planned attack." Steve informed us. "They wanted Hannah." For a moment, my heart stopped. They knew.

"No." I said softly. I knew what this meant. And so did Nat. She grasped my hand tightly, her eyes, usually masked, now revealed her terror.

"Agents Barton," Director Fury started, "I beg you to reconsider my offer." I started to feel sick at the very thought.

"Just give us some time..."

"Time has run out." He said sternly. "They know about Hannah, and they will continue to go after her if you let her stay."

"But Director..." Nat started.

"She needs to be put in foster care, as far away from here as possible."

"Now wait just a minute, Fury." Tony shouted out furiously.

"Quiet, Stark. This is for Ms. Barton's safety." Fury snapped and he looked to the both of us. "If you both truly love her, you'll send her into foster care. I promise you she'll be safe there."

So this was the hardest part of love; letting go when you knew it was in the best interest of the other. But I knew that if we wanted her safe, we had no other choice. If the Dark Hand wanted her, they would pursue her relentlessly. And when they found her, they would use her against us. No. That was worse than sending her to a safe foster home. And she could have a good life, one free of danger. The thought of losing her was painful, but I'd get over it. I had to, for her sake.

"I'll tell her." I said grimly, walking slowly in the direction of her room.

"Clint," Nat said to me about halfway down the hall, placing her hand on my shoulder, "do you want me there?" I shook my head.

"I'll go. I need to do this alone."

She nodded in understanding as I knocked on the door.

"Come in." Hannah replied and I slowly walked in, bracing myself for the coming storm.

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**Please review!  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**So...this is mostly a sad chapter. Just warning you! ****  
**

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**Chapter Seventeen**

**Hannah's P.O.V.**

"I'm sorry." My uncle wouldn't even look me in the eye. Foster care. That was where he wanted to send me.

"No. No, you won't do that." I backed away from him. "You can't send me there!"

"I have to. I have no choice."

"Yes, you do. You can keep me here. We're a family, remember?"

"Hannah, it hurts me to do this just as much as it hurts you."

"No. It hurts me a LOT more." I snapped. "I've lost my mother, my father. And now you want to send me away." I paused for a moment, the tension building with each second that passed by. "And you know what? I think I get it now. You don't want me. You never did. And now this is an easy way for you to get rid of me."

"Hannah, you know that's not true." But all the hurt was welling up inside of me, hot tears escaping uncontrollably from my eyes. How could they do this to me? After all we'd been through?

"I hate you." I said coldly. It just came out. And the worst part was I meant it. Every word. And he knew it. The silence afterwards was painful.

"Hannah, I really don't want to do this. The Director..." He knew he'd said too much then. He may have stopped his mid-sentence, but that's when I knew.

"Fury's been asking you to do this the whole time hasn't he?" He didn't respond. "Hasn't he?"

"Hannah, I didn't want you to..."

"To know about how he wanted to send me away to foster care?" I clarified. I knew it was true. It all made sense now. The offer Fury had brought up to my aunt and uncle at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. That was what it was about. And they had lied to me about it.

"We were afraid you'd run away again. That you wouldn't trust us if we told you." I was quickly filled with anger. They could have at least told me about this! so they could hear what I had to say on the subject. And then to quickly turn down that offer. But now, they were giving into Fury's demands.

"I did trust you." I said sadly. "And I'll never make the same mistake again." I turned away from him. I didn't want to see his face. But he didn't leave as I grabbed my luggage bag. It was like he was rooted to the spot. I would quickly remedy that.

"Get out." I said hatefully. "I never want to see you again."

"Hannah..."

"Go!" I shouted in anger. He stayed for a moment more, then left.

I started to pack my things, throwing whatever was mine in the backpack. I remembered the picture of Mom, Dad and I this time, packing it on top. That was the only loyal family I had. I glanced over at another photo taken only weeks before with my aunt, uncle, and I. I took the picture and threw it against the wall.

I quickly dabbed my eyes, trying to remove any evidence of my tears as much as possible. I grabbed my things and walked out, knowing that there was a car waiting for me below. The last place I wanted to be was here.

Sadly, I wasn't going to be a simple walk to the car. They were waiting for me, the Avengers. My uncle, I noticed, was absent. Good. He shouldn't have the nerve to ever so much as glance at me again.

"Kid, it's going to be al..." Tony started.

"Please, don't." I said, now very depressed. I was going to miss them. And saying goodbye only made it worse.

"Hannah," Pepper had tears welling up in her eyes, "I'm so sorry." She hugged me, but I knew I couldn't stay, lest I start crying too.

My aunt stood there motionless. I didn't want to look at her either. She was just as much a traitor as my uncle.

"Goodbye." I hoped they didn't hear the crack in my voice as I pushed myself away from them.

"Ready to go?" Director Fury asked.

"Yeah." I answered dismally. He tried to grab a bag to help, but I jerked it from him. "I can take care of it myself." I could do it alone. I didn't need anyone anymore.

I could feel their eyes on me as I walked out. And no one tried to take me back. Maybe I really didn't have a family after all.

* * *

**Clint's P.O.V.**

I couldn't bear to look out the window as Hannah was placed in the car to some unknown foster care facility. One that Fury would never tell us about, I was sure. She hated me. She genuinely _hated_ me. And who could blame her? I had just sent her away forever from her only family.

That's when the rage hit me. Before I knew it, I had slammed my fist into the wall. The plaster broke into pieces and fell to the floor. I would have done more, had my fist not hurt. I resumed my position on the bed and buried my face in my hands in uncertainty. What had I just done? I had just done what I swore I'd never do. I had to be the worst uncle in the history of uncles.

That's when I felt a warm hand on my back. I looked up to see Nat, her face just as pained and teary-eyed as mine.

"I see you did a number on the wall." She commented.

"She said she hated me." I admitted. "She hates me, Nat."

"She didn't mean it." But we both knew it was true. The pain we were putting her through, making her just as lost and alone as after Barney died, it was all our fault.

"Nat, I can't do this." I said after a few moments of terrible silence, a guilt now replaced with a fierce determination burning up inside of me. "I can't let this happen. I don't care if I lose my job. I don't care, as long as we get her back."

"I was just about to say the same thing." She said, a small smile creeping along her face.

"But where could she be going? S.H.I.E.L.D. could be sending her anywhere."

"I know they're taking her to one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. jets right now. And I know just where that is."She pulled out a key.

The door was suddenly thrust open, and the whole team barged into our room.

"We've come to a decision." Thor bellowed. "We will NOT allow them to send Hannah away."

"We don't care what it takes, we're keeping her." Tony said. "We're not sending away. You don't do that to family."

"Family, Stark?" I questioned curiously. He wasn't usually a sentimental man.

"Yeah, family." Stark said, shrugging it off with his usual cool-guy act. He pulled out a set of car keys. "So, you coming or what?"

"I don't think that one car of yours is going to fit us all." Nat dangled her set of keys.

"Well then, let's find that car!" Thor shouted.

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**Go, team, go! I just hope they can reach her in time! Please review!  
**


	18. Chapter 18

**So, here goes another chapter. And it's about to get intense. And I mean _way_ intense! Thank you everyone for all the reviews and support. You have all been AWESOMELY-AMAZINGLY-AWESOME! It's phenomenal! ****  
**

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**Chapter Eighteen**

**Hannah's P.O.V.**

The ride in the car was silent. It was only me and the driver on the fastest route to one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. jets; then off to some horrible foster home, where I would be until I turned eighteen. After that, college. And I wasn't going anywhere near New York City. And seeing my aunt and uncle again? Forget it. I never wanted to see their miserable faces again.

I pulled out the picture of my family again. A feeling of warmth at the old memories filled my heart. Then the pain I'd never see them again reminded me how lonely I was. I really was on my own now. I looked down at my feet, lost in thought. So much so, that I didn't even see the car coming toward us at a high rate of speed. I felt the car lurch sideways, the initial impact from my side of the car hitting me with a painful blow.

The car started to flip and I didn't have time to think as my head continually hit random parts of the car. After several flips, the car stopped abruptly on its side. I could see the driver hanging limp, blood dripping from somewhere on his body. I could taste my own blood coming from the side of my head. My whole body felt numb, completely in shock as the seconds ticked by. I didn't even have time to respond as the doors were opened hastily by some unknown people.

"Is he dead?" A male voice asked. I assumed they were talking about the driver. I could see two fingers check his pulse.

"No." A gunshot rang out in response and blood started pouring from the man's head.

"Is she alive?" I heard another voice ask. I saw a pair of eyes on me. I didn't know who these people were or what was going on, but the car accident had left me in a daze.

"Yes. She's still very much with us." Was the answer this time.

"Good. Just what the boss wanted. Injured, but alive." I could feel my seat belt being cut and being hoisted out of the vehicle. I watched as the S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicle stood there motionless, the dead man still inside.

I was placed in the back of another vehicle, a black van with a pair of men inside. They were dressed like the man from the super center and the intruder at the apartment. Two words flashed in my mind: Dark Hand. But why wasn't I moving?

"What kind of damage did we do to her?" The driver asked curiously, climbing in the seat and starting to speed off to some unknown destination.

I could feel one of them check my pulse and examine what I presumed was a gash on my forehead by the way it was bleeding. He pressed somewhere on my side and I nearly screamed because it hurt so much.

"She'll be fine for a while. But she's got a nasty gash on her side by the way she hit everything." One of the men responded. "Boss is going to love the job we did."

Dark Hand. Bad guys. The words flashed brightly in my mind. In a sudden state of panic, I broke out of my daze and started to fight. Pain ripped through my side, but I ignored it as I my fist made contact with one of their faces and kicked the other in the gut. I started to move my way towards the door, only to be dragged back.

"No!" I screamed. "Let me go!"

"Put her out!" The driver commanded. I saw one of them pull out a needle as I struggled against the others tight grip. He jammed it into my skin and everything went dark.

* * *

**Clint's P.O.V.  
**

Nat and I were following Tony at a high rate of speed. However, traffic was jammed up considerably.

"Hey, you!" Nat yelled to a kid walking down the street. "Do you know why traffic's backed up?"

"There's been a bad hit and run." The young teen explained. "There's someone dead in the car."

That's when my phone rang. It was Fury.

"Barton."

"Did you stop that vehicle?" He sounded furious.

"What?" Nat looked to me

"Did you take that girl back with you?"

"No. Why?"

"That car is thirty minutes late. They should have been here at the plane by now." I nearly dropped my phone.

"Nat, turn on those emergency lights." I ordered. "Head to that accident." Her face showed her fear as she quickly swerved out of the line of traffic and raced off to the scene of the wreck, sirens blaring.

"Clint, tell me it's not her." Nat ordered me as she sped down the street. A lump caught in my throat. How could I tell her something I didn't know for certain? I had done it before in my line of work, but this was harder than I could ever have imagined.

"It's not her." I managed to croak out. But when we saw the car, my words were anything but meaningful.

"No." I said in horror as I got out the car and raced towards the totaled car, the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem still clearly visible amidst the damage. No one should have been able to survive that accident. And that's what made my blood run cold.

"Sir, you're not allowed to..." I whipped out my badge and shoved it back in my pocket, allowing me access to the vehicle. I looked through the windows, finding a man there with a gunshot wound in the head, dead. I looked through the other windows, but Hannah wasn't there.

"Hannah?" I asked aloud, praying that by some miracle she had walked out alive. But there was no answer.

"Did you see a young lady in the car?" I asked one of the ambulance drivers. He shook his head.

"Only that man there, sir." I was confused. Where was Hannah?

"Clint!" Nat shouted to me from the car. She had opened the backseat side that was very much damaged by the initial hit, pulling out a picture and white piece of paper. The picture was one I easily recognized as her last family picture with her mom and dad. But the piece of paper was not anything that belonged to Hannah. It had been stained with blood on the seat. It read: We've got what you want. You know who we are. Wait for my call.

"No." I said, mortified.

"Guys!" Steve shouted, running down the side of the street, the others racing behind him. They must have jumped out of the car when they saw us racing past them. "Is she in there?"

"No." Nat said grimly, handing him the piece of paper.

"The Dark Hand." I said. She was in the hands of those monsters...and injured. And I was going to stop at nothing to get her back.

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**Wow. This is not looking good. Please review!  
**


	19. Chapter 19

**I have a feeling you all are going to hate me by the end of this chapter. The cliffhangers are terrible. But if it helps, I am going through the same suspense as you guys are. And that's why I'm posting every day. I can't stand cliffhangers like this! ****  
**

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Hannah's P.O.V.**

My body ached as I opened my eyes to a dimly lit room. My head especially was throbbing terribly; like I had been beaten with a baseball bat. I jerked my hand towards my head, only to be stopped quickly. I noticed that I was tied to a chair and there was a small puddle of blood near me. Where was that coming from?

"Looks like someone finally decided to wake up." A voice boomed, echoing loudly in the tiny room. I turned my head every which way, only to stop because it hurt so much.

"Wh-what?" I asked in confusion. "Who's there?"

I heard a chair squeak across the floor behind me and some large footfalls approach. I was met with a man who was quite tall for an average fellow. He had black hair and I couldn't make out the color of his eyes because of the lighting. His mouth was curved into a small smile that made him look confident, cocky even, as he looked at me.

"Hmmm...you're not much, are you?" He said, looking at me up and down in disdain.

"What?" My thoughts were slow as I tried to recall what had put me in this situation. And who this guy was. I didn't have any recollection of his face.

"A child. The Avengers chose a helpless child to stay with them. Like picking a perfect target, I should say." He said to me.

"I'm not a child." I protested. His laugh gave me chills.

"Seventeen? Hardly an adult." He started to circle around me...like a shark looking at its prey. "Anyways, your age has no matter to me, seeing as your value is worth much more than gold to me at the moment."

"And why is that?" I asked curiously.

"Why, haven't you figured it out? Or has that head injury prevented you from remembering who your precious aunt and uncle fear at this very moment?" That's when it occurred to me. The car accident. The guys in the black van. The Dark Hand. Now it all made sense. They had kidnapped me and brought me here to get revenge on my aunt and uncle.

"If you'd think they'd come for me, you can forget it." I spat. "They were sending me off to a foster home far away from them. They could care less." He chuckled.

"You are indeed a child." He said, a smirk on his face. "You have no concept of how much your aunt and uncle really do care about you, even to send you to the farthest ends of the earth to keep you from me. A futile effort, seeing as you're here anyway."

"You're wrong." I responded sadly. "They don't want me."

"Oh?" He was unaffected by my sincere attempts to persuade him otherwise. "Then why, dear child, would they make such an effort to send you away?"

"To get rid of me for good. I'm nothing but a burden."

"Oh, believe me, you're everything to them. I've seen." So he had been spying on us; him and his team of cohorts. "I've never been one to see the Black Widow show that much affection to anyone, much less Hawkeye so protective. Yes, you, child, mean the world to them."

Although this man was currently the one putting me in this predicament, I couldn't help but consider his words. After all that my aunt and uncle had done for me, why would they send me away? To keep me away from this guy? I could hardly blame them. And lying to me about foster care? They were only trying to protect me from any thoughts on being sent to that horrible place.

That's when it hit me. They loved me. More than anyone else in the world, they loved me. And I had responded by slapping them in the face when they were doing all that they could to keep me safe. What had I done? I just told my uncle that I hated him! And for what? For it to end like this?

"You'll see how much they care." The man kept going. "But only for a little while."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"You're dying." He said matter-of-factually. "That car accident left you with a nasty gash on your left side. It doesn't look to bright for you in a few hours or so." I looked at the left side of my body in response, only to find my clothes stained with blood that was also dripping down to the small puddle of red liquid on the side of the chair.

"You're never going to get away with this. My aunt and uncle are going to kill you before this is all over."

"I really think I will get away with this. In a few hours, your aunt and uncle will be dead, and I'll be happily leading the Dark Hand against S.H.I.E.L.D. and the world as we know it. Yes, I say my plan will work out perfectly." He seemed rather cheerful, walking behind me and resuming his place at I assumed a chair behind me.

Well, great. I was bleeding to death, my aunt and uncle were in danger, and I was stuck in the room with this lunatic? Could my life get any worse? Well, the answer could be summed up in one word: yes.

**Clint's P.O.V.**

I was pacing. The thought of sitting still was unbearable. How could I when my niece was being held captive, dying in the hands of some crazy terrorist group? I couldn't help but think that this was my fault that she was there.

_If only I hadn't given her up..._

_"Stop it, Clint."_ A voice inside me said. _"Blaming yourself won't get her out of there."_ But the guilt was overwhelming. If I hadn't given in to Director Fury, if I had listened to Hannah, if I had just...if I had just...I don't know. If I had just, that's all. I could have prevented everything.

_"You're only human."_ The voice inside me responded. I knew I didn't know that the Dark Hand would kidnap her, but I wish I had been quicker about stopping that car. Or even saying no to Fury when I had the chance.

"Clint." Nat said gently, "sit down." She ushered me to a couch in the Tower. I decided it might be better if I did. I think I was starting to scare everyone else. Never before had they seen me so worried.

"How long has it been now?" Steve asked.

"No sooner than when you asked five minutes ago." Tony replied. "But it's been three hours." He repeated.

As the minutes ticked by, the tension amongst the group continued to rise like a tidal wave. Steve was clenching his fists in frustration. Tony, for once, was speechless, but eagerly awaiting the next move. Thor's hand was wrapped tightly around his hammer. I could only imagine what he was thinking about doing with it. Bruce, well, I think I saw him turn a few shades of green, if that gives any clarification about what he was setting his mind on.

Nat was not taking the situation well at all. Usually so distanced and keeping her emotions to herself, she was the exact opposite as her feelings were getting the best of her. She was gripping my hand tightly, the uncertainty of Hannah's predicament keeping her, as well as me, on edge.

That's when my phone rang. The number was unknown, but we all knew who it was. I nodded to Tony and he began tracing the call at once. I picked up the phone and answered.

"Barton." I answered, rather testily I might add.

"Hello." A voice, one that was quite cheerful, responded back. The sound of the guy made me want to ring his neck at the other end of the line. "I think we both know who each other is, now don't we?"

"Cut to the chase." I barked.

"Ooo, testy." He said, enjoying every second of this conversation. "I don't think such an attitude is good for raising a child, do you?"

"Where is she and what do you want?" I growled.

"Now, now. Don't worry. Your precious niece is fine...for now anyways." I hated to think what was happening to Hannah at this moment.

"What do you want?" I repeated.

"Why, revenge of course. Seeing as how your niece is slowly dying next to me at this moment, I suggest we make this quick."

Dying? This could not be happening.

"I want to talk to her." I demanded. The guy chuckled.

"I'm afraid she's a little tied up at the moment." The man's attempt at humor made me sick.

"Where are you?" I asked. I looked at Tony, who shook his head. He hadn't found them yet.

"The abandoned building west of here, near the old, abandoned fisher's market." Well, that was easy. And I knew where he was talking about.

"Now, let's be more specific." The man continued. "You and Black Widow must come alone. I don't want any of your friends coming around. I have spies everywhere, and if there's so much as a hint of them anywhere, I'll kill your niece in a second. Understand?" I read him loud and clear.

"Yes." I said, gritting my teeth. "What time?"

"Meet me here in one hour. Your niece should still be alive by then. And remember, come alone." He hung up and the group looked at me, hoping for a plan. But I had none.

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**Please review! Also, I'd like to say something I feel needs to be said. You know how many people speculate about how the media has a big affect on people and how they act? I just wanted to say that this is just a story and is not meant to draw any sort of act of violence from it. Sadly, I fear there are people in this world that take it to heart from TV and reading and go out and do it. Mass shootings and acts of violence are not right and are unacceptable. I know none of you would ever do this, but I thought it would be important to say. If it's really weird or awkward to put this in here for some of you, I'm sorry. But I just find it so sad how people act on what they see in the media, whether from TV or other form of communication. Anyways, have a great day and I'll update soon!  
**


	20. Chapter 20

**This is it guys! This is the big, big, BIG finale! Well, why are you all wasting your time reading this when you could be reading about Hannah? Go on and read!****  
**

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**Chapter Twenty**

**Hannah's P.O.V.**

I watched Boss (I had started to call him that, seeing as I didn't know his name) make the call. I had wanted to start screaming for them not to come after me, but the gag he had tied around my mouth kept me quiet until he hung up. Now all that was left was the finale. And it wasn't looking good. This guy was ready, and he was going to stop at nothing until my aunt and uncle were dead.

My future wasn't looking very bright either. The puddle beside me had grown larger and my body had grown intensely weak. My head felt light and my vision had started to blur. The man had seen that my condition was becoming critical, and all he could do was smile in satisfaction at his good work.

"It won't be long now." Boss told me. "Not long at all."

* * *

**Clint's P.O.V.**

The building in front of us screamed disaster. The cracks in the walls showed the building was condemned and could easily be demolished by a small wrecking ball. But inside that building was my niece. I had to go in there, even if that meant the possibility of death.

"I love you." Nat said quietly to me. I gripped her hand in response. I loved her more than she could ever know. I just wish I could survive to continue to show that love; to her and to Hannah.

We slowly started to walk up to the door of that building, praying that with every step, we would get a chance to see Hannah and get her out of here. We were taking a step of faith, knowing that we could be shot on sight. But something told me that the Dark Hand wanted to drag this out as long as they could. As we approached, a small slot on the door slid open.

"Hawkeye, Black Widow, how nice of you to join us." The man at the other end said, his voice sickeningly sweet. "Please, come in and stand still for a brief weapons search."

We were ushered inside and we were immediately thrust against the wall and patted down. However, they would be unable to see the small device tucked into my ear. It was one of Stark's inventions. The team could hear whatever conversation we had. If we needed backup, we could get it. They were hiding a few blocks away, ready for action. But for now, with Hannah's safety unsure, they had to law low.

"Sir, they're here." The man from the door said as we were checked by two other guys.

"Right this way." He man said after they were positively sure we were clean, leading us down a narrow, dirty hallway. There were rats and roaches all over the place, perfect for keeping away anyone who would even dare come in here. Perfect for killing someone and no one ever knowing.

We continued on through the hallway, taking several turns like a labyrinth. I was surprised if anyone could memorize how to get out of here. Just as I was beginning to think they were going to kill us by just getting us lost, our guide came to an abrupt stop at an old, scratched up wooden door.

"This way." Our guide said. I knew this was it. This was where Hannah was. And I feared the worst. I could feel Nat tense beside me. The scene before us was one that left us unprepared. I had seen many dying people in my line of work, most of them on account of my own hands. But this, when it's your own flesh and blood, it's more horrifying and unreal than you could ever imagine.

* * *

**Hannah's P.O.V.**

My breathing had become ragged and uneven when the man had gotten a call that my aunt and uncle were here. Even in the dim light of the cemented walls, I could see my skin looked pale. I barely had the strength to sit up in my chair, but my persistence was holding off. I couldn't turn my head any which-ways because I became nauseatingly dizzy otherwise.

"Well, it looks like your aunt and uncle care after all." Boss said to me smugly, pulling out a handgun. "And look here, just in time to watch you die."

"Please..." I croaked. "Let me suffer, not them."

"Oh, I plan to make you suffer." He responded casually. "They get to watch you die, and then I get to kill them off myself."

I wanted to say more, but I needed to rest. Talking was becoming more of a chore because it took away from breathing. For a few moments, it was quiet between us. The silence was drowned out in my perspective because of the sound of my heavy breathing. The reality of what was going to lingered heavily, and I was both frightened and terrified; not for me, but for my family. I didn't want this to happen, not to them.

There was a loud rap on the door and another man's face poked in. "They're here, sir."

"Send them in and go get the car ready. This won't take long." Boss responded. He sounded so sure, so...cheerful.

My aunt and uncle walked in, only to stop stark still as soon as they hit the room. For once, they looked...scared? A surprise reaction for two trained assassins.

"Okay, you have us here. Now let her go." Uncle Clint said, his eyes turning fierce as he met with the guy.

"Actually, plans have changed." Boss informed them, cocking his gun and pointing it at my head. "I'm going to let you suffer by losing someone you care about. Just like you did to the Dark Hand, remember?"

"Don't shoot her!" Aunt Nat yelled, the sound of pleading evident in her voice.

"Oh, now this is something." A sinister smirk appeared on his face. "The great Black Widow...begging! I don't think anyone's ever done that to you before, am I correct?" I could tell she was loathing him at the moment. If he didn't have a gun pointed at me, she'd probably be tearing him to shreds.

"Anyways, I have a better plan than just shooting her. That would be much too quick." Boss continued. "I'm going to let you watch her die. It's almost finished, as you can see. And once I'm done with her, you're next."

They were mortified, but they tried to remain calm. They were trained to do so, but I imagined that their training could only go so far.

"You see, suffering is something that I..." He started to go on to this long speech, talking about something I really didn't care to hear. I had heard enough of his words to last a lifetime. Instead, I had to focus on something to get my aunt and uncle out of here alive. I had already assumed I was going to die. But that didn't mean that my family couldn't keep living.

I thought, and I thought hard. The gun was pointed at me, but maybe I could somehow maneuver my way out of the line of fire and turn the chair over and knock Boss down while he was caught off guard. Yes, that's what I would do.

I waited for a moment, taking the time to prepare myself. If I got shot in the process, I got shot. I was going down anyways. As long as he didn't get a chance to hurt them. In a moment's notice, I gathered up my courage and lurched the chair off the ground, tilting it in Boss' direction. He didn't have time to respond as I hit him and knocked him off balance, falling to the ground. I hit the ground on my wounded side and so did my head. We both moaned in pain.

My aunt and uncle didn't lose a beat, quickly moving in. But Boss was quick, regaining a sense of the situation, and took a shot at one of them. His aim was terrible, since he missed them not once, not twice, but _three_ times. My uncle grabbed the Boss' arm and thrust it downwards, wrestling the gun from his grip. Aunt Nat moved towards me, quickly undoing the bonds. Whenever they were loosened, however, my arms fell like dead limbs onto the floor.

"Clint, this doesn't look good." Aunt Nat told her partner worriedly, her expression full of terror. She gently pulled me onto my back, which helped alleviate the pain a little, but not much.

"Fools. Too late to save your own family. I have gotten my revenge after all." Boss said with a laugh. That's when I heard a gunshot.

"Clint?" Aunt Nat looked at him as he held the gun, aiming right at Boss.

"He tried to pull another gun on me." Uncle Clint said. Obviously Boss didn't intend on going to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, so he had concealed another weapon for safekeeping. Uncle Clint took his focus off the dead criminal and turned his attention to me.

"Hey, kid." He said, his voice soft, but his eyes worried. "Help is on the way, don't worry." He must have called in the other Avengers somehow, but I knew it was too late for me. That stunt with the chair had taken every bit of energy I had left. And now, I was starting to fade.

"I'm so sorry." I said frantically, knowing my time was short. I had to make up for lost time before it was too late to compensate for the pain I had caused them both. "About everything."

"It's alright." He assured me, stroking my hair gently. "It's alright."

" 't hate you." My vision was starting to turn black. "I love you, both of you." I knew I had to say it before I was gone forever.

"We know." Aunt Nat replied. I thought I saw a few tears well up in her eyes. "We love you, too."

"You hear that, Hannah? We love you." Uncle Clint said, a smile on his face, but his voice desperate.

I had done what I needed to do, said what I needed to say. And now, I knew I could go.

"Don't go to sleep." Aunt Nat said quickly as my eyes started to close from exhaustion.

But the desire to close my eyes was so tempting. I was so tired. The loss of blood had also started to take its toll on my brain. I started to slip from any concept from reality, my thoughts shifting miles away from here.

"Dad's waiting for me. I have to go see him." I said softly. Heaven, right? That's where Dad was at. But I had to close my eyes to go see him. I felt so torn. My aunt and uncle were still here, but what about Dad? He had to be missing me. And I knew I couldn't have both.

"No!" Uncle Clint yelled urgently. "Not yet. Please."

"I think I see Dad." I was envisioning him in my mind, but to me, it was just as real as seeing him in the flesh. And he was smiling. Oh, how I missed that smile.

"Hannah, please, don't do this." I could hear someone begging in the distance, but I ignored them.

"Hi, Daddy." I said, managing a small smile. I started to close my eyes and instantly, everything went dark.

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**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! *silently begging you all not to kill me*  
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	21. Chapter 21

**So, guess what? I feel terrible about the chapter I posted this morning. You were all either crying, mad, or worse, both! In response, I had to post a day in advance! Not that I'm angry about that. I just can't live with the guilt! Enjoy this next chapter. There are still several more to come!  
**

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**Chapter Twenty-One**

**Clint's P.O.V.**

_Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. The sound of the heart monitor sounded with the likeness of a death toll. And I was standing there, watching it happen. I could see the medical staff trying to revive Hannah, but she wouldn't respond. Her frail, pale form now lay lifeless on the hospital bed. There was a moment of despairing silence before the doctor came out the door._

_"I'm sorry, but we lost her." The doctor wiped the sweat off his brow, disheartened._

_Flash forward: A white casket laid with purple flowers; Hannah's favorites. It was closed and ready to be placed in the freshly-dug ground. My friends were standing beside me, silently mourning as the casket started to lower into the cold earth. And then, a tombstone. One that read; Hannah Barton: You are Loved and Forever Missed. The one beside her read Bernard (Barney) Barton: Beloved Father and Brother._

I jerked awake, dripping with sweat and a feeling of dread looming in my mental atmosphere.

"Clint, it's alright." Nat's hands held me in their clasp, tight but reassuring. "She's alright."

I breathed in for a moment, praying that this wasn't just some other dream where she would be alive and okay, only to actually wake up and find the nightmare come true. I looked up and saw Hannah. She was still frail, but she had started to turn back into a healthy complexion. Her breathing was soft and slow, but normal.

I started to recall the events that brought us here. She was talking to Barney when she was last conscious. She had been so far from me, somewhere I couldn't reach her. And when she had closed her eyes, I feared she was gone for good. I remembered picking her up in my arms and hurrying her outside, the blood still running quickly onto my shirt. The other Avengers were waiting. Bruce had somehow found her pulse, much to my relief. Getting her to the hospital was no problem. Tony had opted to fly her there in the suit, since driving would take too long and we had to make every second count. We had met him in the emergency room soon afterwards to find they were working on her rigorously.

A few hours later, we were all still sitting in the emergency room, Nat and I's hands clasped in an unbreakable bond, half-fearing, half-hoping for word on her condition. The news came; critical, but stable. I learned later that they nearly lost her two times in surgery. Thank God they hadn't, or else I wouldn't be where I was now.

I leaned against the back of my chair. She put her hand on my shoulder and rubbed it steadily. The rest of the team was asleep in the hospital room. It had been a long night. The doctor may have said stable, but we knew things could go south at a moment's notice. I must have fallen asleep around three, but I could tell Nat hadn't slept a bit. Dark circles had formed under her eyes and she showed no signs of giving in to a peaceful slumber.

"You need to rest." She shook her head.

"Not until I'm sure she's going to wake up." She could be really stubborn when she loved someone. It was one of the things I loved most about her.

"She made it through the night. I think she's going to make it." And I truly believed it. She must have believed me too, because it didn't take long for her to fall asleep, her head resting on my shoulder. I slowly started to nod off as well, knowing that, for once, everything was going to be alright.

* * *

**H****annah's P.O.V.**

_"Dad." I said happily, throwing my arms around my father after what had seemed like an eternity without him. His face was joyful, the best I had ever seen him._

_"I've missed you so much." I let tears of joy fall down my cheeks._

_"Oh, Hannah, I've missed you too." He said, enveloping me in another hug, only to pull me back to face him. "But you have to go back."_

_"What?" I was horrified at the notion. "Why?"_

_"You're alive." He explained._

_"But how?"_

_"It is not your time. You have a lot of life to live yet."_

_"But I want to be here with you." I pleaded._

_"No, baby." He shook his head. "Your family needs you."_

_"Who?" I asked. _

_"My brother and his family need you." He said, showing a picture, the one I had smashed before I left the Tower. I suddenly felt guilty for wanting to leave my other family too. _

_"But they...you...me..."_

_"You're in good hands, baby girl." He placed his hands firmly on my shoulders. "Your mother and I will be here waiting for you when it's your time. But for now, you need to be where you're loved as much as you were with us."_

_Tears of sadness started to well up in my eyes._

_"I'm going to miss you." I wrapped him in what I knew would be our last hug for a very long time._

_"We'll be waiting for you." He repeated, his figure beginning to fade from my vision._

My eyes opened groggily to bright white walls surrounding me. I was very confused, much like a deer in the headlights. Where was I? I took the room under further inspection and found that I had an IV stuck in my arm...and a heart monitor that had an annoying _beep _every few seconds. A hospital. That's when I recalled my near-death experience. How was I still alive? And Dad. I could remember my encounter with him vividly. It had to be real. I tried to shift myself upward, but I was met with a sharp pain in my side. The groan of pain that followed escaped my lips before I had the time to think.

"Hannah?" I heard my uncle's voice. I saw him in a chair, getting up rather quickly now and pushing me back gently into the bed. "You shouldn't move."

"It hurts." He chuckled lightly.

"Yes, I can tell."

"I thought I died." I was very curious to how I was still even here.

"You almost did...twice." He said. "You're one tough Barton, that's for sure."

"Must run in the family." I said, attempting a small joke.

Another question was looming in my mind, however.

"When do I have to go?"

"Go? Go where?" He cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

"Foster care." I looked down at my sheets, afraid of what was to come next. The thought of going to a real foster home after I was well made me feel worse than I already was.

"No, Hannah. I'm not sending you there." I perked up and looked at him, wondering if this was a joke or for real. His expression was serious.

"Really?" He smiled.

"Yep." He said. "Face it, you're stuck with us."

"I think I can live with that." I wrapped him in a hug, and he patted my back reassuringly. Within a few moments, however, I became very tired and fell back into a deep sleep.

* * *

**Later on that day... **

**Clint's P.O.V.**

There was a knock on the hospital room door. The team and I had all been sipping on some coffee to try and sustain us until the nighttime, but I could see some of us were still dozing off (Steve was repeatedly brushing a sleeping Tony off his shoulder). Hannah had fallen back to sleep after I had seen her awake and she hadn't woken up since. I couldn't blame her. She had to be exhausted after what she had been through.

I got up and made my way to the door, only to be greeted by none other than Director Fury. I couldn't help but feel a sense of hostility towards the man. After all, it was his push for Hannah to go to a foster home that led to her kidnapping. But I kept calm, like I knew I should.

"Agent Barton," He said formally, "I need to see you and Mrs. Barton outside, if you don't mind." Nat heard him because she came out right on my heels.

"Yes, sir?" I asked as I shut the door.

"I know it's been a long twenty-four hours for the both of you, but we must talk about your niece's erm...living situation." I felt the hairs on my neck rise.

"No." I said coldly. "She is NOT leaving us. If anything, she's more in danger without us than with us, and I, for one, am not..."

"Agent Barton." He interrupted. "You didn't let me finish." There was more?

"Given the current situation, it would be best that Ms. Barton stay with you. She's clearly safer in the hands of her family than with a government-issued caretaker."

I couldn't believe it. Director Fury was actually letting her stay? But I wasn't about to interfere with his decision.

"Yes, sir." I tried to contain my joy.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend to." And with that he left us. All Nat and I could do was smile. We had our niece back.

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**If any of you were mad at me, you better be reviewing about how wonderful I am after reading this! LOL But I totally understand. I would be upset too! But really, please review and tell me I'm forgiven! **


	22. Chapter 22

**IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR READERS: Okay, so a lot of you have been asking whether or not that was the last chapter last time. There are still a few more chapters and this story will be over. Also, I will be updating more slowly. I am EXHAUSTED from updating so much! lol Just wanted to let you all know! But this short snippet ought to cheer you up!  
**

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**Chapter Twenty-Two**

"Oh please, not again." I looked at the hospital food in disgust. It looked like the same mystery meat they served in my school cafeteria.

"You've got to eat it." Aunt Nat urged. She had turned into a complete dictator when it came to eating my meals. As for this thing the hospital called lunch, she thought it would make me feel better. It just made me want to throw up.

"Yes." I moaned as I took a bite. I shuddered. It was nasty, but I swallowed it for her sake. She nodded in approval.

"I'll be back in few minutes. I need to make sure your uncle's eating as well." She exited the room and I quickly threw the thing in the closest trash receptacle. However, I was still hungry. That's when the door peeped open.

"Hey, kid." " Tony quietly snuck in.

"Have you got the goods?" I asked all secret-like. He pulled out a Burger King cheeseburger. It took all the strength I had not to shove it all in my mouth at once.

"Like it?" He said as I took my first bite of real food in weeks.

"Yes." I said in satisfaction. "Thanks, buddy."

"Just hold on a few more days. Then you'll be home free."

"Thank goodness." He laughed.

"I think your aunt has finally gone overboard, making you eat this hospital food." Tony went on as I munched happily on the meaty goodness that was my hamburger. "She's psycho."

"Only because she loves me." I said in-between mouthfuls.

"Hannah, I..." My Aunt Nat had walked into the room very suddenly, causing me to hand the burger to Tony.

"Tony? What are you doing here? And with that artery-clogging cheeseburger no less."

"Nothing." Tony said innocently and held up the burger. "Just eating this cheeseburger here."

"I thought Pepper banned you from fast food." Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Ummm...don't tell her. It's a secret." He faked the best smile he could and bit into the burger. Good cover, Tony. With that, he took off with half my cheeseburger before Aunt Nat could interrogate him further.

"I see you've eaten your meat loaf rather quickly." So that's what that thing was.

"Yep." I lied, imitating the same innocent smile of Tony. She wasn't buying it.

"Hmmm...then you won't mind if I check the trash...oh my, what is that brown lump of food in there?" She asked, looking from the trash to me.

"Someone must have snuck in here and thrown their mystery meat...I mean meat loaf...in there. I would never do such a thing." Oh yeah, because _that_ was believable.

"So you really love that meat loaf?" I nodded my head.

"Oh good. Since you like it so much, I'll get you some more." When she left, I groaned. I was totally busted.

* * *

"Okay, so you just aim it in this direction and you'll hit him smack dab on the head." My uncle instructed me as I aimed the slingshot at the door. Thor was totally toast when I aimed my rubber arrow of doom at his forehead. I was becoming quite the master shot (probably something I inherited from my uncle). I had already aimed at my nurse and hit her on the fanny. She wasn't too happy about that. Poor Steve got in the middle of Tony and I hit him in the eye, but he was okay. He even helped me get Tony later on.

"You know, with a lot of training, you could ..." Steve started to say.

"No way, Cap." My uncle cut him off. "She just got off one terrorist attack. Don't make me think of putting her in danger again by joining my work."

"Oh, come on, Uncle Clint. It wasn't _that _bad." I cut in. He flashed me a glare and I decided not to press the matter further. Making him think I could be in danger again might get me locked in my room for all eternity.

"Anyways, at least we've got some good target practice. It's the one thing that's fun to do around here." Tony commented. He was right. There was literally nothing fun about this hospital. I couldn't even race my wheelchair through the halls. I tried it one time and got all of ten feet when the floor manager started screaming at us.

"I could have told you that wheelchair race was going to fail." Bruce joined in on the conversation.

"You've really got to talk to that floor manager about getting on my case." I told my uncle.

"Ha! Have you seen her? She's mean!" The room erupted in laughter.

"You're scared of that little woman?" Thor asked. "I'm twice her size and I have no fear of her!"

"Oh, really?" The sound of the mean floor manager filled the room as she came in and looked at me. "Your nurse is out, so I have to change your bandages."

Oh, nuts. Why did it have to be me? I could have sworn when she changed them she deliberately ripped them without sympathy. The group remained silent, but I could smell their fear. Not scared of her, Thor? I don't believe you! I cast her dirty looks when she turned to leave.

"Mean old lady." I muttered and she turned to face me.

"What was that?" She glared at me.

"Nothing." I smiled innocently. She huffed and left the quiet room, only for it to be filled once again with laughter.

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**I really wish I could have a wheelchair race with Avengers! It would be such a blast! lol Please review!  
**


	23. Chapter 23

**This chapter is very, very short. It's also the last chapter. Sorry about this, guys! I'd just like to say thanks to all of you who have been with me through writing this story. You all have been wonderful!  
**

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**Chapter Twenty-Three**

**Hannah's P.O.V.**

It had been a several weeks since I had come home and things had pretty much returned to normal. My aunt and uncle had returned to their work at S.H.I.E.L.D., but had asked to remain in the states for a few weeks, given the previous events. Director Fury had 'graciously' consented, according to my uncle. Good. The Director had already stepped on the two assassin's toes enough for a while. It would be foolish to try to do it again.

Right now, I was busy cleaning my room. The picture I had smashed was now restored and sitting on my dresser besides the picture of my parents and I. Both items were my most treasured possessions now. I rummaged through my clothes and started to put some away when I saw a flash of white. I looked down and recognized the piece of paper that had fallen out from behind the picture of my parents at the apartment. I had completely forgotten it since I had arrived at the Tower, but now I was curious. I picked up the paper and unfolded it. I nearly dropped it when I realized who's handwriting it was: Dad's.

_Hannah,_

_I didn't know how long it would take you to find this or if you ever would. It's only been a few weeks after your mother's death, but I knew I had to write you the truth. I never told you about my past, or at least, I kept most of it hidden from you. The truth is, I have a brother. His name is Clint Barton. Our parents died when we were young and we were sent to foster care. After a while there, we ran away and joined the circus. He's a talented archer, let me tell you. If anything should happen, I've put him as your legal guardian.  
_

_I suppose the reason I never told you any of this is because it hurt to talk about it. When Mom and Dad died, I felt so alone. And after my brother and I parted on bad terms, we never did reconcile. I knew his phone number, but I suppose I was too much of a coward to call him. I pray that you'll forgive me one day for this. But I also hope that you understand. I love you, baby girl._

_-Dad_

"Dad." A few tears ran down my face as I held his letter in my hands. That's when I knew what I had to do.

**A Few Days Later...**

"Barney (Bernard) Barton." I read the name on the tombstone in front of me. It was right beside the tombstone of Harold and Edith Barton; my grandparents. Uncle Clint stood beside me. I had shown him the letter. Now we both knew why we had never known each other; why there were so many secrets.

"He was a good man." My uncle stated quietly beside me. He stared at the stone, his eyes filled with pain and regret, but he couldn't hold back the care he had for my father. No matter how many years had passed between them, they were still the same brothers that had faced the world together, if only for a short while.

I couldn't help but admire him for having the strength to come with me. He had been quiet the whole car ride to the cemetery. He had seemed so hesitant when he looked at the quiet graveyard, knowing that his only brother was there. But he had gone nonetheless.

"You gonna be okay, kid?" He slung his arm over my shoulder and pulled me close to him.

"Yeah." I looked to him. "You?" He was quiet for a moment, then he spoke.

"We all got bruises." He responded softly. The reference to my favorite song made me smile.

"We do." He imitated the same smile. And I could see that our share of pain brought some comfort to him, just as it did for me. Yes, life had given us some terrible scars, but it hadn't pushed us away from life. Instead, it had brought us closer as a family.

"Let's go home." He said to me. Home. To my friends. To my family.

We got in the car and started to speed off to the airport. As we did, he said,

"Oh, and did I mention Nat and I are having a baby?"

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**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Oh yes, discordchick, I did this for you! I bet all you readers love me now, don't you? Just thought I'd throw that last bit in for some fun. This is last chapter for this story, sadly. As for a sequel, well, it's not in the foreseeable future. I'm telling you, college is gonna kill me! Thank you all so much for reading this story! You have all be so wonderful and encouraging! THANK YOU! Please review! **


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